I got into college through reservation: Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone, who stars in Prakash Jha's Aarakshan, says she got admission in college by flashing her 'sports certificate'.

"I owe my admission to the sports quota. It worked for me, so reservation has touched my life. But then there is a much wider impact of reservation in education and jobs. It has its own benefits and pitfalls. I am sure that the film would fetch varied reactions," Padukone told PTI.

"This is why it really meant a lot to me when Aarakshan came my way. There is no added glamour quotient or a romantic track just so that it could be made into a 'masala' affair," she added.

Jha's latest explores the politics behind reservation in education system and stars Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Padukone and Manoj Bajpai in key roles. The film hits theatres on August 12.

Khan plays Padukone's love interest in the movie while Bachchan is her father. So while the core subject of the film was dramatic enough, the demand of the script was for Padukone to share certain chemistry with Bachchan.

And the 25-year-old actress admits that she was flustered to share screen space with Bachchan.

"Before stepping into Aarakshan, I had never interacted with him (Bachchan) very closely. I had perhaps met him a few times socially on a 'hello-hi' basis but that's about it. Due to that I was really very flustered on the first day of the shoot as I didn't quite know what to expect from him," said Padukone.

"But when I look back and reflect, I think it was all in my own head."

Padukone also feels that scenes between her and Bachchan create several brillant father-daughter moments in the movie.

"I think what also helped was the fact that Prakashji has written several moments quite brilliantly for the film. There are these little moments between Amitji, Tanviji (Azmi) and myself that present a close knit family. The sense of togetherness has been brought out well here."

Last year was a mixed bag for Padukone. Housefull did well but films like Break Ke Baad, Lafangey Parindey, Karthik Calling Karthik and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se failed to live up to the hype, which has left the actor disappointed.

"I was disappointed with the box office outcome of some of my films because I sincerely believe they could have done much better. But then there is a silver lining as creatively it was a satisfying experience and this is what keeps you going," said Padukone.

The actress will next be seen in Desi Boyz and (tentatively titled) Cocktail.