Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone has opened her about her battle with COVID-19 in May last year.

Speaking to Film Companion, she said, “Life after COVID changed for me because physically, I was unrecognisable completely… I think (due to) the medication I was given, the steroids that I was put on. So Covid in itself was weird, your body feels different, your mind feels different.”

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The 36-year-old added that while the illness itself was okay, the after-effects were a struggle, forcing her to take two months off of work. “I needed to take two months off work because my mind wasn’t working. The phase for me was very, very difficult.”

Padukone had tested positive for the infection in May 2021, along with her entire family, including her father, mother, and sister.   

“Lockdown 1 was very different. It was all of us trying to figure what had come upon us and trying to understand how to navigate our lives around this new way of living. But lockdown 2 was extremely difficult because everyone in my family, including me, had COVID at the same time,” she said in the interview.

On how COVID-19 changed her as a person, she shared, “It has made us all more empathetic. I think I’ve changed. I’ve become more empathetic and sensitive. My purpose in life has become much bigger today. I try and find meaning in everything I do.”

Padukone has repeatedly established herself as one of Bollywood’s most celebrated actors, with her acclaimed work in films like Om Shanti Om, Padmaavat, Piku, Bajirao Mastani, and Ram Leela. 

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She will next be seen in Gehraiyaan, directed by Shakun Batra and starring Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, and Dhairya Karwa. It is set for an OTT release on February 1.

She will also appear in upcoming films such as Pathan alongside Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham, Fighter with Hrithik Roshan, the official remake of Hollywood movie ‘The Intern’ with Amitabh Bachchan, and Nag Ashwin’s next opposite Prabhas.