Deepika Padukone’s career reached a milestone with Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express in 2013 when she played Mennamma in an out-and-out commercial blockbuster. Though this performance was critiqued for being a bit too stereotype-driven, caricaturing an otherwise interesting character, Deepika, as an actress today, has grown leaps and bounds and has pulled off a gamut of diverse performances. However, one wonders whether her social credibility could override another stereotype-ridden performance.
The recent trailer drop of Shetty’s Singham Again got the chatter about the much-expected crossover in his cop universe. The actioner narrates an arc not very different from the Ramayana, with an ensemble star cast consisting of Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tiger Shroff, among others, and, of course, Deepika Padukone. Though the movie has created quite a buzz, the teaser reactions regarding Deepika’s role were mixed; some audience members did seem disappointed.
In fact, many have pointed out that her character comes across as stereotypical as anything and that she fares less compared to other less powerful actors in this film. Reactions point to early impressions that her performance will not click with the audience. Comments are full of negativity regarding her characterization.
The observations varied from, “Never thought Deepika would do this cringe acting with Arjun and Tiger in the movie,” to ” Chennai Express, released 11 years ago, and still she has the same accent same expression, which felt cringeworthy.
Other reviews claimed that her character was similar to the one she played earlier. “Please, it looks like Deepika from Chennai Express joins the police force,” said a comment humorously. Overall, the trailer has created a mixed debate over the character’s direction and how the movie has projected its female lead.
