Palak Tiwari on Deepika Padukone: ‘I Idolize Her; Wish I Could Redo Our First Meeting’ (EXCLUSIVE)

There’s something about Deepika Padukone that has everyone looking up to her, and it’s not her towering stature. As Palak Tiwari puts it succinctly while gushing over the actress, Deepika is just “perfect,” and it is only normal to feel speechless in her presence, which is exactly what happened to Palak when she met Deepika.

Palak Tiwari, who is currently seen alongside singer and rapper King on Prime Video’s ‘Lukkhe’, got candid for Variety India’s 'Spotlight' and revealed how she is inspired by Deepika Padukone’s journey and idolizes her the most. “I think she is a quintessential heroine, you know? She's just perfect.”

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Recalling the first time they met, Palak reveals she was still a kid and had accompanied her mother, actor Shweta Tiwari, to the sets of a comedy show where Deepika Padukone was a guest. But because she got absolutely tongue-tied, she wishes she could get a do-over.

“When I was 12, I met her on the sets of ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’. I think she was promoting ‘Happy New Year’ (2014). To date, that is the first time in my life that I've been starstruck. And that's a huge thing to say because Shah Rukh Khan was right there, you know?

I saw Deepika and went, ‘Oh my God, she's ethereal!’ I’ve wept my eyes out. She spoke to me as you would to a 12-year-old, ‘Hi, I'm Deepika. What's your name?’ And I was… [makes crying sounds]’ And my mom told me, ‘Say your name, stop embarrassing me!’ I was stammering, but Deepika said, ‘Palak, right? It's so nice to meet you.’ And I kept weeping. I wish I could redo that. I would actually like to form words.”

“Lukkhe” marks Palak’s debut in the streaming space, and the actress had much to say about her unconventional career trajectory. “I think I'm trying to do things in a very new, fresh way. The more I try to emulate somebody, the less I'd relate to them. My journey has been rather peculiar because I started with a music video, and my mom's a star, but she's a television star. So it's a dichotomy of a couple of things. But finding my own way and not looking at anybody else's journey has really been life-saving to my sanity.”