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In 2006, Padukone made her cinematic debut in the Kannada film Aishwarya opposite actor Upendra. She later made a successful Bollywood debut in 2007 with Farah Khan's blockbuster Om Shanti Om opposite Shahrukh Khan. The film was a re-incarnation melodrama, featuring her in a double role. Her performance was well received, earning the actress a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award as well as her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM noted, "Deepika has all it takes to be a top star — the personality, the looks and yes, she's supremely talented too. Standing in the same frame as SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!" About being cast opposite Shah Rukh Khan, she said,
| “ | When Farah was casting for Happy New Year, she saw my commercials on TV and called my agent. I met her when she was rehearsing at a dance hall in Juhu. When that film didn’t happen, she offered me OSO. Farah took care of me right from the first meeting, introducing me to Shah Rukh Khan and ensuring that I was comfortable with him. Six months prior to shooting, we frequently met up for lunches and dinners. | ” |
Padukone was then seen playing a feisty, modern-day Indian woman, Gayatri, in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno alongside Ranbir Kapoor,Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba. The film, which released on 15 August 2008, performed reasonably well at the box office, but her performance drew flak. Adarsh wrote, "Deepika is a sore point. Her role isn't convincing and that's the reason why this performance doesn't work. The only consolation is, she looks gorgeous."
She played a double role again in her next film, Chandni Chowk To China, which released on 16 January 2009. The film, directed by Nikhil Advani, also featuredAkshay Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Ranvir Shorey in the lead. It was a critical and commercial disaster, with Nikhat Kazmi of The Times Of India commenting, "Deepika looks lost and forlorn for most of the film."
Padukone's fourth release Love Aaj Kal, released on 31 July 2009 and proved to be one of the biggest hits of 2009. Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film documented the changing value of relationships among the youth. Padukone played the role of Meera Pandit, a practical and head-strong career woman opposite Saif Ali Khan. Of her performance, NDTV's Anupama Chopra wrote, "Deepika looks fabulous but she isn’t a strong enough actor to breathe life into the character." Despite this, she received her second Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination. The same year, she teamed up with Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan once again for an item number in the Irrfan Khan-Lara Dutta starrer Billu. She also made guest appearances in the Telegu film Love 4 Ever and in Sohail Khan's Main Aur Mrs Khanna.
Her first release in 2010 was Excel Entertainment’s Karthik Calling Karthik. The thriller featured Farhan Akhtar as Karthik, a troubled schizophrenic man, and Padukone as his supportive girlfriend, Shonali Mukherjee. This time, Anupama Chopra wrote, "Padukone finally seems to be thawing in front of a camera." The film, however, was a commercial failure. She then featured in Sajid Khan's multistarrer Housefull with Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Arjun Rampal, Jiah Khan and Boman Irani . She played the role of Soundarya Bhagyalakshmi Venkateshwari Baassappa Rao, Kumar's girlfriend and later fiancée. The film became ablockbuster in India, with a net gross of INR 95 crores in the first week itself. As for her performance, Taran Adarsh mentioned that "Deepika is a surprise. She carries her part with amazing confidence...Housefull is the film that would make people notice her talent as well as beauty".
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