Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone and Mary Kom talk to each other during the felicitation conference for Olympic medalists Mary Kom and Vijay Kumar, organised by the Bombay Gymkhana Club. Deepika is quite interested in sports and her father Prakash Padukone is a veteran badminton player.
"It gives me the confidence to go ahead and choose the kind of films I have been doing and believe in the kind of roles that excite me," added the 26-year-old, who received the award Tuesday.
Deepika, a model-turned-actress, started her film career with Om Shanti Om opposite Shah Rukh Khan.
Her acting skills have been appreciated in the film circle, and she has won awards too. Deepika says actors don't work for awards, but if their hard work fetches them one, it's a great feeling.
Actress Deepika Padukone receives award from Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad during the Priyadarshani academy's 28th anniversary global awards in Mumbai on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)
Asked if she hopes for a National award, she said: "That's every actor's dream. When you do a shot in front of the camera, when you are working, that's not what is in your mind, you are not working to win the award. But at the end of the day when you finish a film and put in all the hard work, of course you want all the awards and if there is a National award that comes my way, most definitely."
Deepika's forthcoming films include Kochadaiyaan, Race 2, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani and Ram Leela.
Several Bollywood divas have received this honour before Deepika Padukone.
Immediate competition considered, haven't Vidya Balan and Kareena Kapoor done much more to earn the accolade?
After debuting with Parineeta, Vidya Balan starred in films like Paa, Ishqiya and more recently The Dirty Picture, Kahaani. Kareena Kapoor too has films like Refugee, Chameli, Omkara, Jab We Met to her credit.
Here's the complete list of recipients from Bollywood of Smita Patil Memorial Award before Deepika Padukone:
Vidya Balan - 2010
Priety Zinta - 2008
Kareena Kapoor - 2006
Urmila Matondkar - 2004
Karisma Kapoor - 2002
Aishwarya Rai - 2000
Tabu - 1998
Madhuri Dixit - 1996
Manisha Koirala - 1994
Meenakshi Sheshadri - 1993
OTHER 2012 RECIPIENTS
On the occasion, noted industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla would be honoured with Harish Mahindra Memorial Global Award for outstanding contribution to "globalisation of Indian industry."
Dr Samir Brahmachari, Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, would be presented award for outstanding contribution to "science-led inclusive innovation."
Nirj Deva, Member of European Parliament, would be felicitated for outstanding contribution to "international development."
HDFC Managing Director Aditya Puri would be honoured for outstanding contribution as a "visionary leader in banking industry."
Dr Jacques Rogozinski of Inter-American Investment Corporation, USA, would get an award for outstanding contribution to "economic development leveraging on small and medium enterprises."
Milind Deora will be felicitated for his induction in the Union Cabinet as a Minister of State for Communication and IT while Piyush Goyal will be honoured for his appointment as a member of Rajya Sabha.
The awards shall be presented by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil and state Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anil Deshmukh.
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(With additional inputs)