- Jayati Bhatia conducted acting workshops for Deepika Padukone before Ram-Leela.
- Sanjay Leela Bhansali wanted the workshops to help "open" Deepika as an actor.
- Deepika performed an exercise involving abusive language without hesitation.
- Jayati said Cocktail had made Deepika a fearless performer.
- The actor gave "100 percent" despite going through a difficult personal phase.
Deepika Padukone's performance in Cocktail is widely seen as a turning point in her acting career. Soon after the film's success, she began working with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, the first of three successful collaborations between the two.
Actor Jayati Bhatia recently shared memories of preparing Deepika for the film. Speaking in an interview, Jayati recalled that Bhansali's team brought her in to conduct workshops that would help Deepika fully understand and embrace her character.
According to Jayati, the workshops were originally planned for seven days, with four-hour sessions each day. Bhansali had one clear goal.
He wanted Jayati to "open Deepika up" by the end of the process.
"Cocktail made her a fearless actress"
Jayati said she immediately noticed Deepika's dedication and willingness to learn. She approached every exercise with complete focus and enthusiasm.
"When I started working with her, she did it with full commitment, full energy. I was told to work with her for seven days, for four hours each but after the fourth day, I told Bhansali, 'Sir, she has become a fearless actress after Cocktail. Cocktail is her breakthrough role. If I work with her for three more days, I will waste her time, and yours. Go for it. She will do whatever you tell her. She is mouldable, fearless; she wants to do something which will challenge her'," Jayati recalled.
She believed Deepika had already reached the emotional space Bhansali wanted for the role. As a result, she felt additional workshops were unnecessary.
Jayati also remembered that Deepika initially expected to play a calm and graceful character in the film.
"I told Bhansali that she thinks you are giving her a sublime character. He said, 'She is in for a shock'. In Ram-Leela, her character was of an emotional, feisty girl."
The workshop exercise that surprised everyone
One of the most memorable exercises involved helping Deepika shed any hesitation in front of the camera.
Jayati designed an activity that required the actor to stand on the balcony of Bhansali's office and loudly shout abusive words as though she were directing them at someone below.
"Bhansali's office has a balcony and there is a snack vendor downstairs. I told her that your exercise is to just abuse loudly standing in that balcony. Don't look down but act like you are addressing it to someone," she recalled.
Jayati admitted she was not comfortable using abusive language herself, so she performed the exercise first to encourage Deepika.
What happened next surprised her.
"She opened the door and then she started abusing. I had finished the scene at a particular abusive word, but she went beyond that. She gave more to the scene, said more abusive words, the ones that I had never even heard. Whatever she had heard and she just went for it. And I said, 'Wow'," she said.
Jayati added, "She did not feel hesitant that someone might watch her. She was already a star. People knew her. But she had no fear."
According to Jayati, the exercise showed Deepika's willingness to completely surrender to the demands of a role.
Deepika gave "100 percent" despite personal struggles
Jayati also reflected on Deepika's professionalism during the workshops.
She later learned that Deepika had been dealing with depression during that period. However, she said the actor never allowed her personal challenges to affect her work.
"I didn't know that, at the time, she was going through depression. I didn't know that, and she didn't let me know about that. Why did I not get to know? Because for those four hours, she gave me her 100 percent. Whatever I told her, she would do; she would do more than she was asked," Jayati said.
She also remembered meeting Deepika years earlier at Anupam Kher's acting institute. At the time, Deepika had already become a successful model but had been advised to improve her Hindi.
"There too, I saw that she was very truthful. She was told that her Hindi is not very good, and she has to work at that, and she was asked to speak in Hindi. I asked her a couple of questions in English, but she responded in Hindi," Jayati recalled.
"I said it's very nice that you responded in Hindi. She said, 'Yes, I have been told to work on my Hindi.' You see her commitment."
Jayati said Deepika later remembered that brief interaction, which left a lasting impression on her.
Deepika and Jayati have not yet shared screen space in a film. Deepika will next appear alongside Shah Rukh Khan in King, scheduled for release in December 2026. She is also set to star opposite Allu Arjun in Atlee's upcoming film.
