The leggy beauty is also bettering herself on the badminton court

And actress Deepika Padukone loves it when people compare her reel jodi with real life beau Ranbir Kapoor to classic Bollywood pairs. “Both of us are new to the industry and I believe that we have a great and long future ahead of us.

Compliments motivate us. When people compare us as an on-screen pair to the likes of Nargisji and Raj Kapoor or Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, it makes a huge difference,” she says happily.

But that apart, she’s not so cool with the fact that people discuss their love life more often than their work. “When we were shooting for Bachna Ae Haseeno, we didn’t think we would fall in love with each other. But beyond that, I guess enough has been written about our relationship and we need to focus on our career now. We both, like Ranbir said, thought that people would respect the fact that we’re open about our relationship. But they’ve crossed that line a lot of times, and I’m not sure if I like that at all,” she says seriously.

Speaking of her relationship, does she have a tattoo that says ‘RK’, as is rumoured? Deepika laughs and replies, “It’s too personal for me to talk about it!” But what she does talk about, happily, is the attention that she and Ranbir have been getting as actors. “People like Yash Chopra sir have been in the industry for so many years, and when they walk up to you and say that you light up the screen, it makes a lot of difference,” she says.

However, even after the success of her debut, Om Shanti Om, Deepika didn’t feel any pressure to perform. “I don’t think I was under any type of pressure after the success of OSO. One always has to move on from the success of one movie to better oneself in the others. Yes, I’m very happy that I had a good start in the industry, but then I can’t sit and ponder over that thought.”

The leggy beauty is also bettering herself on the badminton court. She recently played a game opposite her dad, Prakash Padukone, and wants to get back to the game now. “It was nice to be back on the court and play badminton with my father. And the best part was that I won the match! I’m going to get back to playing more often now,” Deepika says.