After stunning the audience with her spectacular performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama Padmaavat, Deepika Padukone is all set to be back on screen with another project Chhapaak, a film based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.
On Monday, the actress took to Twitter to share the first look of her character named Malti. "A character that will stay with me forever...#Malti," the actress captioned the picture. She also added that the film will release on January 10, 2020.
Likewise, Meghna Gulzar, who will direct the film, called Malti 'courage' and 'hope'. "She is courage. She is hope. She is @deepikapadukone as #Malti in #Chhapaak. Shoot begins today. Releasing on 10th January 2020," she wrote on Twitter.
Chhapaak is based on the life and struggles of Laxmi Agarwal, the poster girl of acid attack survivors in India. She was thrown acid when she was still in school.
When asked about casting Padukone in the role during a Lit for Life 2019 event held earlier in Chennai, Gulzar said, "You won’t be seeing Deepika, you know. You will be seeing a disfigured Deepika. There is an uncanny similarity between the survivor and Deepika," adding that the film will show people the havoc that violence can wreak in a person’s life.
Talking about the film, Padukone—who will also be producing Chhapaak— earlier told Mumbai Mirror, "When I heard this story, I was deeply moved as it’s not just one of violence but of strength and courage, hope and victory. It made such an impact on me, that personally and creatively, I needed to go beyond and so the decision to turn producer."
Also starring Vikrant Massey as Padukone’s partner, the film is jointly produced by Gulzar and Padukone. Chhapaak will begin filming from today (March 25).