Deepika Padukone cheers for Force India at the Abu Dhabi GP

Abu Dhabi, Saturday, October 31, 2009: At the zenith of their optimism and refueled with confidence after their encouraging last few performances, Force India Formula One Team, India’s team at the pinnacle of motorsport looked to finish of the season on a high note. Drivers Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi went out all guns blazing at the world class Yas Marina circuit.

Adding to their enthusiasm was Bollywood beauty, Deepika Padukone who was cheering for the Force India team from the paddock. The brand ambassador for Kingfisher Airlines Deepika is one of the top actresses in Bollywood. Her popularity has been scaling new heights with her universal appeal and the recent success of ‘Love Aajkal’. Since her sensational debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Om Shanti Om’, Deepika has won many an accolade for her performances.

Belonging to a sports family Deepika has always been a Formula One fan with Force India being her favorite team .She always wanted to experience the thrill of watching a race live and Dr Vijay Mallya Chairman Kingfisher Airlines who also co-owns the Force India Formula One team makes her wish come true.

Deepika looked all charged up to be present there and said, “I have always loved visiting Abu Dhabi, but the energy and buzz of the place on race weekend is something else. I am here to cheer the Force India teams who have been my favorite ever since Dr Mallya launched the team last year and am very happy to see the wonderful performance they have put together this season.

It’s really exciting because I get to fulfill my long cherished desire to experience a Formula one race live. I hear that Yas Marina Circuit is one of the best in the world and am really looking forward to experience it.It gives me a sense of supreme pride to be part of India’s team at the pinnacle of motorsport and see the Indian tricolor race on this world class race track. I thank Dr Mallya for giving me this opportunity.

About Force India:
The birth of the Force India Formula One Team heralded the start of a bold new era of Indian motorsport: the first-ever foray for an Indian team into the FIA Formula One World Championship. In 2007, Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman of India’s iconic UB Group and Kingfisher Airlines established a joint-venture company with the Mol family from the Netherlands to acquire the Spyker Formula One Team in October 2007.

With its dynamic name and patriotic logo incorporating the colours of the Indian flag and its chakra, the team is a sporting representation of the emerging generation of young, success-hungry, fast paced global Indians and the growing strength of India as a nation.

2009 will be the iconic team’s second year of competition at the highest level of motorsport following its creation in the final months of 2007. In this short time, the team has developed a strong following throughout the sub-continent and the Indian diaspora across the globe.

Building on the strong foundations and lessons of its debut year, the new-look team will be aiming to fulfill the dreams of this passionate following with a clutch of results. Confident in ground-breaking new partnerships with the 2008 championship victor, McLaren Racing, premium engine supplier Mercedes and leading aero industry brand EADS and Dr.Vijay Mallya will lead the team this year to truly become a Force to be reckoned with.

About Deepika:
Very few actresses can claim a super-hit movie on their debut. Fewer actresses have followed it up with another super-hit within a year. Few actresses have won movie awards in their first year in the industry. Very few actresses have an endorsement portfolio of envious proportions at the age of 23. But Deepika Padukone is one of those very few.

Deepika is easily one of the most recognizable faces on the Indian scene. After just four movies, she was the most searched celebrity on Yahoo! India in 2008, having surpassed Shilpa Shetty, Aishwarya Rai and Kareena Kapoor respectively. Maxim magazine recently voted her “The Hottest Girl on Earth” not just for her huge fan following but also because of her potential as an international brand face.

After pursuing a career in modeling for many prestigious Indian-based brands Deepika hit the international scene when Maybelline made her their new international cover girl face. From modeling Deepika branched out into a career in acting. She started by starring in the music video for ‘Naam Hai Tera’, a song from the pop album ‘Aap Ka Suroor’, an independent album by Himesh Reshammiya.

In 2006, Deepika made her cinematic debut in the Kannada film, “Aishwarya”. She later made a successful Bollywood debut in 2007 with Farah Khan‘s “Om Shanti Om” opposite Shahrukh Khan. Her performance of a1970s superstar Shantipriya, and later as Sandy won her great reviews.Deepika was next seen in Siddharth Anand’s “Bachna Eh Haseeno” and Nikhil Advani “Chandni Chowk to China” opposite Akshay Kumar. Her next release was “Love Aaj Kal”, which was a superhit and she starred opposite Saif Ali Khan. She has recently finished shooting for Excel Entertainments “Karthik calling Karthik”directed by Vijay Lalwani opposite Farhan Akhtar and also “Houseful” by Sajid Khan opposite Akshay Kumar.

Deepika was born to Ujjala & Prakash Padukone on January 5, 1986 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her family moved to Bangalore when she was only eleven months old. Her mother is a travel agent while her father, a badminton player, played at the international level for India and won the All England Championship in 1980. She also has a younger sister named Anisha.