The secret of success is the constancy of purpose - Benjamin Franklin. It could be a case of pure luck for 21-year-old Deepika Padukone to have landed a plum role in Shah Rukh Khan’s home production ‘Óm Shanti Om’, but what she did with the opportunity is really what counts.

This girl who didn’t even belong to Mumbai had one constant companion, her strong desire to make it big, be it modelling or acting. She says, “Even as a child, I was very sure of what I wanted. 

I have always told my parents that I want to be a part of the glamour world. I had modelling on my mind but acting just happened along the way.” 

Her father Prakash Padukone is a badminton legend, so her family is no stranger to public glare. She believes her association with sports right from her younger days is what helped make her responsible, focussed and dedicated. But that was a different world compared to the people she is hobnobbing with these day. 

Deepika says its her parents’ immense trust in her that has kept her comfortable in all situations. “My family always allowed me and my younger sister to pursue our dreams — they never imposed their expectations on us. That has been our strongest support, wherever we have gone,” she says proudly. 

Deepika, who is grounded enough to realise that she should continue pursuing her education (she is doing a Bachelor of Arts course from the Indira Gandhi Open University), says she has a long way to go before she can even begin to feel that she has achieved something. 

She says, “I truly don’t think whatever I have done in 2007 is such a great achievement.It is still a learning process for me. I keep looking to learn new things. I am afraid of the day I start feeling I have achieved something — that would be the end of my career.”

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Deepika Padukone has struck gold with the success of her debut film, Om Shanti Om. She has begun to command Rs 1.5 crore for endorsements, three times more than before, and Rs 1 crore for a film, twice what she earned for the first and on a par with established stars.  
  
Of course the big names – Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Amir Khan, Priyanka Chopra, etc – have emerged strong this year and will continue to rake in the moolah.  
  
However, badminton legend Prakash Padukone’s daughter, with two big films slated for release, leads the pack of emerging stars who may well come into their own in 2008. She already endorses Parachute, Kingfisher, Levi’s, Close-up, Limca and Maybelline.  
  
“Deepika, even before the film, was a high-profile model and therefore while other models earn Rs 40 to 75 lakh, she commands almost Rs 1.5 crore,” said an industry player who did not want to be named. That is less than the Rs 2-3 crore that Aishwarya Rai commands, but quite impressive for a newcomer.  
  
Padukone has company in friend Ranbir Kapoor, who made his debut with Saawariya, his leading lady Sonam Kapoor, singer Mukesh’s grandson Neil, who played a murderer in Johnny Gaddar, and Shiny Ahuja, who acted in the successful Life In a Metro and the not-as-successful Khoya Khoya Chand.  
  
Industry experts say Ranbir, who will be seen in a Yash Raj film next year, is being wooed by a telecom company, an apparel brand and a soft drinks maker, from which he is asking for Rs 1.25 crore to Rs 1.5 crore as endorsement fee. A pizza company and a hair care company are said to be courting Sonam Kapoor.  
  
“While Ranbir is already saleable, one will see a different Sonam in Dilli 6, in which she plays a complete extrovert. That will help her attract morebrands,” said an executive from an agency that handles celebrity accounts.  
  
Mukesh is already said to have raised his rate from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for a film. Not-so-new Kareena Kapoor has made a resounding comeback with the success of Jab We Met. Her fee is said to have gone up by 50 per cent to Rs 1.5 crore.  
  
Then there is Harman Baweja, who hasn’t yet had a release, but is expected to become big when his film Love Story 2010, opposite Priyanka Chopra, hits the theatres. Paid Rs 30 lakh for it, he is already asking for Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore for new films.  
 

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