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Interior designer shares what’s inside Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan’s vanity vans: ‘Even had a small gym inside’
Vinita Chaitanya shares insights into celebrity vanity vans, revealing that Deepika Padukone's vans are personalised while Shah Rukh Khan's emphasise comfort.
From long shooting hours to quick costume changes, a vanity van often becomes a celebrity’s second home on set. Over the years, these spaces have turned into personalised lifestyle hubs rather than basic trailers. In a December 12 podcast with Masoon Minawala, interior designer Vinita Chaitanya opened up about the little-seen world of celebrity vanity vans, sharing her experience of designing Deepika Padukone’s van and revealing an unexpected detail about Shah Rukh Khan’s on-set routine. (Also read: Dhurandhar wasn’t shot in India or Pakistan; here’s the Asian country where the town of Lyari was recreated )
What inspires Deepika Padukone’s vanity van design
According to Vinita, she has designed multiple spaces for Deepika Padukone over the years, spanning both her personal and professional life. Sharing details of their long association, she revealed, “I’ve done her home many times, from her first apartment at Beaumonde to the one on top, which is her office. Then I did her van. In fact, two vans.”
She explained that Deepika approached the design of her vanity vans with the same clarity and intention as her homes. “She really got it and knew exactly what she wanted. For me, it was great fun, except that I had to go to the middle of nowhere to work on the van with technicians. But it was fascinating, especially learning how actors actually use their vans,” Vinita shared.
While working on these mobile spaces, Vinita also discovered that vanity vans serve different purposes depending on the scale of a shoot. “There’s a larger van and a smaller one. The smaller van is used for shorter commutes, while the bigger one is meant for large studio sets,” she explained.
What’s inside Shah Rukh Khan’s vanity van
During her research, Vinita also got the chance to step inside Shah Rukh Khan’s vanity van while he was shooting with Deepika. Recalling the experience, she said, “While researching other vans, I walked into Shah Rukh Khan’s van for the first time. They were shooting a film together.”
She noted that while Deepika’s vanity vans were highly personalised, Shah Rukh Khan’s was designed around comfort and functionality. “His van was fabulous, it even had a small gym inside. He’s such a cool guy,” she added.
