Deepika Padukone is the biggest female superstar of Indian cinema and a global force. She has been a part of the industry for almost two decades, witnessing the evolution of Indian cinema. Deepika is also among the prominent faces representing the industry on a global stage. She recently attended the 2025 WAVES Summit at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai.
The summit, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, brought together key voices from the media and entertainment industry. Alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone spoke at the event, which focused on India's entertainment industry and its global impact. Their panel titled, “The Journey: From Outsider To Ruler” became the momentous sight as the ultimate Bollywood royalty on and off screen shared their insights on Day 1 of the summit.
Most recently, she attended and spoke at the WAVES Summit (World Audio Visual & Entertainment) 2025, where she hailed the event as a timely and much-needed syposium in Indian media and entertainment landscape, highlighting its potential for global impact and growth.
When asked about her thoughts, Deepika shared, “I think very very timely! I feel like something like this, coming together of various mediums… we have different film festivals, we have something for AI, we have something else happening for different industries but I think in a way of coming together… it was high time and, India really being the centre of it. I feel like this is the right time in the way that we (India) are positioned today.”
She further added, “I just think that its the right time its the coming together of tech, AI, Audio, Visual, film, entertainment, storytelling all of that coming together. This is probably first in the world." Deepika also pointed out the fragmented nature of India’s creative ecosystem, where cinema, OTT, animation, immersive tech, and AI often function in silos. She emphasized that WAVES 2025 could bring these elements into a cohesive framework.