MUMBAI: Actress Deepika Padukone has multiple reasons to celebrate. She turned a year older on Sunday and is starting the new year with the release of her special film "Chhapaak" that will launch her as a producer.

The year 2019 saw her taking up a new role -- she became the chairperson of the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), which organises the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star. In March, she unveiled her Statue of Purpose at Madame Tussauds in London. She also announced her second production -- "Mahabharat", to be made from Draupadi's point of view.

Would she call 2019 the best year of her career, Deepika told IANS: "I don't want to define it like that. The years 2013, 2014, 2015... I felt like those were the best years and it keeps getting better."

She was referring to the time when she gave hit films like "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" (2013), "Chennai Express" (2013), "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" (2013), "Happy New Year" (2014), "Piku" (2015) and "Bajirao Mastani" (2015). And her films continue to create fireworks at the box office.

"If anything at all, I just want to keep growing, evolving and challenging myself. So I'd like to believe that best is yet to come," said Deepika.

The former model had made her debut in Bollywood with the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Om Shanti Om" in 2007.

"Chhapaak" is based on the life of an acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. The film, helmed by Meghna Gulzar, is set to hit the screens on January 10.

SOURCE: IANS