Actress Deepika Padukone opened up about the diversity of actors in Hollywood and said that the conversation is on a ‘surface-level’. In a new interview, Padukone was questioned how she plans to centralise diversity in her Hollywood projects. Padukone announced her new project in last August. She debuted in Hollywood with ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ in 2017. 

While in conversation with Vogue India, Padukone said, “Right now, the conversation around diversity in Hollywood is surface-level. The minute you have a Black or Asian actor, it’s considered ‘diverse casting’. But we have a long way to go before we start seeing substantial change. I feel like 80 per cent of the people in charge are still looking at inclusive casting as a box to be ticked. No doubt, there are some who are genuinely interested in turning the tide, but they are getting it quite wrong. It’s a learning process and I hope it’s an earnest one.”

In February the actress was asked about her Hollywood movie, and she told Bollywood Hungama, “Too nascent stage to be talking about that at this point.” She announced the project four and half years later after her debut. She has signed a cross cultural comedy developed by Eros STX Global Corporations division STXfilms. 

Padukone will star in the project and her banner Ka Productions will co-produce it as well. In her statement, the actress said, “Ka Productions was founded with the aim to develop and produce purposeful content with global appeal. I’m thrilled to be partnering with STXfilms and Temple Hill Productions, who share Ka’s ambition and creative vision and look forward to bringing impactful and dynamic cross-cultural stories to the world.”

Padukone was last seen in ‘Gehraiyaan’ with Ananya Pandey, Siddharth Chaturvedi and Dhairya Karwa. She will be next seen in ‘Pathaan’ with Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham. She also has Nag Ashwin’s Project K with Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan and Disha Patani. She will also star alongside Hrithik Roshan in ‘Fighter’.