Deepika gets a big chop

Deepika Padukone had a mixed bag in 2009, as Love Aaj Kal was a hit with critics and audiences while Chandni Chowk to China bombed. Even her 'special appearance' in the horrid 'Mai aur Mrs Khanna' was met with yawns.

Her 2010 is pretty much packed - she begins shooting for Ashutosh Gowarikar's 'Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se' with Abhishek Bachchan, a Yash Raj film with Neil Nitin Mukesh, Farah Khan's 'Happy New Year' opposite King Khan and Kunal Kohli's new film with Imran Khan. She has already got two biggies lined up for release, the Sajid Khan comedy 'Houseful' and the more interesting 'Karhik calling Karthik'.

In 'Karthik Calling Karthik' Deepika plays a down and out, frustrated chain smoker; she had reportedly almost declined the role fearing she might get addicted to cigarrettes. However producer Ritesh Sidhwani suggested that she smoke nicotine free cigarettes during filming, which are less dangerous to health. In the film Deepika's character is a metropolitan girl who is addicted to smoking. Farhan Akhtar's character advises her against it and eventually succeeds in getting her to quit smoking.

Moreover, it was revealed today that Deepika is sporting a completely new hairdo for 'Karthik calling Karthik'. The actress has chopped off her trademark waist length hair and is going for a short spiky cut. Goes without saying, her look has been kept tightly under wraps and the producers want to 'surprise' the audiences when the first promo of the film is released. According to Deepika, she last chopped off her long hair when she was eight years old. She initially didn't want to do away with her long tresses, but hairstylist Audhuna (Farhan Akhtar’s wife) and director Vijay Lalwani finally convinced her to go for the chop. "They thought with my height, I would be able to carry it off well." she said.

"Everybody says it looks good on me and makes me look younger” and further said, "The scriptwriter had a certain image in mind when he wrote my character Shonali. So I had to do justice to the role."

The hype has been built. Farhan Akhtar has stated that the film is going to knock audiences out. Will 'Karthik Calling Karthik' recreate the magic of Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's 'Rock On'? The film does release on the same day as SRK's 'My Name is Khan'. Which one would you watch (first)?