A 'record opening' for Deepika Padukone? Well yes, for the trivia hunter here is a scoop before we get into further details. Believe it or not, but Deepika holds a record that could well be a point of envy for most of her peers and contemporaries. Ever since she burst into the Bollywood scene with Om Shanti Om, she has made the fastest march towards finishing as many as 15 films as a Bollywood leading lady inside 6 years flat, something that has been left unchallenged. With Chennai Express as her 15th Hindi film, she is all set to hit the milestone. We explore her Box Office journey so far in this Three part series. The 'big league' charm That Deepika wasn't willing to settle down for anything lesser was apparent from the fact that even when offers had started pouring in much before Om Shanti Om happened; she had decided to play the waiting game. Of course she had a momentary stint down South but it was primarily to gain idea about what really was in store for her once she decided to step into the world of Bollywood.

A music video with Himesh Reshammiya (when he was at the top of the game) was a good enough trigger for her soaring popularity in the Hindi audience circuit as well and once Om Shanti Om was announced as her launch pad, the game was certainly on.Om Shanti Om was offered to her at the time when Shahrukh Khan was fresh out of films like Don - The Chase Begins, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Paheli. None of them being quintessential romantic films that one associates with Shah Rukh Khan, one would have expected him to play safe and choose a popular star heroine who would play the all important role of Shanti. However he as well as second time director Farah Khan was convinced that Deepika was the girl for the job and soon her grooming kick-started full throttle.