My accent was made fun of, says Deepika Padukone on her debut into Bollywood

One of the highest paid female actors in India and undeniably one of the most glamourous superstars of Bollywood today,Deepika Padukone sure has had a thriving career.

However, in a recent interview with India Today, the Bajirao Mastani actor opened up about how this was not always the case, and despite having a "dream debut" alongside Shahrukh Khan, she had to face her fair share of trolling and criticism as a new entry to the world of entertainment.

"After hustling and grinding through the modelling world for some years, I finally got my big break in movies. I landed Om Shanti Om at the age of 19 and was immediately thrown into the deep end. My very first movie was a big-ticket, marquee project with the biggest names in the business," she remembered.

"In 2007, when the film finally released, there was love and appreciation in abundance, but there was also a section of people who scathingly criticised my work, 'Oh she is a model, she cannot act.' My accent was made fun of. A lot was said and written about me and my craft, and, the truth is, all of it was extremely hurtful. When you are all of 21, these kind of brickbats most certainly affect you," she added, speaking about the toll it took on her at the time.

However, Deepika concluded that it was her years as an athlete which taught her how to handle success and failure.

"My parents have led by example. They laid out principles for us to live by, dignity, humility, honesty and authenticity. They taught us to live within our means, encouraged us to focus not only on our professional achievements, but on being remembered as good human beings."

"It is these very beacons of life and learnings that have helped me navigate my personal and professional path through storms of adversity, with humility in my being and gratitude in my heart."