Why did Shah Rukh pick Deepika over Katrina and Priyanka Chopra?

It's a casting coup of sorts for director Farah Khan to bring together Shah Rukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan after a gap of 7 years.

She must be smiling ear-to-ear for bringing Deepika Padukone onboard 'Happy New Year' (HNY).
 
Having earned the title of 'Bollywood's Reigning Queen', Deepika Padukone is now every bit movie royalty. Moreover, it is unheard of Shah Rukh Khan to romance the same heroine back to back.
 
So what makes Deepika special?

Farah had signed and sealed the heroes a while ago, but her search for a heroine was not easy. After several screen tests she announced that SRK will take the final call.

So what made Shah Rukh pick Deepika over Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra?

The actress has got the looks and now even critics agree that Deepika has boosted her acting skills with each movie.

Deepika is not shying away from experimenting with her roles anymore. Be it the urban gung-ho girl in 'Cocktail', stylish yet scheming in 'Race 2', the shy, introvert geek in 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' or the Tamilian village bella in 'Chennai Express' - Deepika is improvising with each offer.

Right now she is basking in the glory of four consecutive hits at the box office. Public response to 'Chennai Express' has played a major role in Deepika’s name being finalised.

The movie has broken all records and is still minting money. So Deepika might be the lucky charm for Shah Rukh as well as Farah.
 
After all the director launched Deepika in 'Om Shanti Om', using her economically, letting her smile do the magic and making her look (sepia) beautiful.

The model turned actress didn't show outstanding chemistry with SRK but their two dimples together did the trick.
 
Talking about chemistry, the two actors didn't flourish in this area even in the tight framework of 'Chennai Express' barring the "Titli" song and the one sequence where the hero had to carry his love and climb 300 steps. As the hero toiled on, his lady-love showed what audiences wanted to see - love, overflowing through her eyes.

It is interesting that, Deepika Padukone's achievement is being hailed as much bigger because she has, reportedly, pipped screen rival Katrina Kaif and several other contenders such as Priyanka Chopra, television actor Anita Lokhande in grabbing the role.

In HNY, Farah’s heroine has to be a fast-talking Marathi girl and also a fabulous dancer. The director must have considered Deepika's trick with the thick Tamil accent in 'Chennai Express' and how the audiences found it attractive.

So definitely, Deepika's experimental streaks and take on different genres of movies prompted Farah's decision.

The audience adored Shah Rukh and Deepika’s pairing in 'Om Shanti Om' and they enjoyed their banter in ‘Chennai Express’. Thus keeping in mind the audience's inclination, Farah's quest for a heroine ended.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.