Deepika Padukone may have chartered a successful Bollywood career for herself in a short span but the actress says she is rarely happy with her work. The 25-year-old says her selfcriticism helps her do better with each film. “I am very harsh on myself. I am very rarely satisfied with my own work but I am glad that it is like this. I would rather be harsh on myself than be happy with the smallest thing that I do. I compete with myself and challenge myself to do better everyday. It gives me the drive to push myself otherwise I would be stuck in the rut,” Deepika said. She proved that she is more than a pretty face with her powerful performance as Veronica in Cocktail, her lone release this year.

“I am glad that this film happened for people to realise that. I have always believed in my work and myself but sometimes you have to wait for the right script and opportunity to come your way. Cocktail did that for me.” She has already won an award for her performance in the film. Deepika, however, says she is more happy to see that the audiences’ perception about her has changed for good. “I think awards are always welcome. Big Star awards recently acknowledged my contribution. But I am more happy about the energy shift that I feel from the audiences post Veronica. There is nothing in the world that compensates for that feeling.”

With her latest film Race 2 ready to hit the screens on January 25, Deepika says she is looking forward to 2013. “I could not have asked for more this year. I invested a lot emotionally into the character of Veronica and I am very happy with the result. It has been a great year for me not only in terms of Cocktail’s success but also with the kind of films that I signed post that. I have an interesting lineup for 2013.” Deepika is looking forward to a busy year in 2013 with Race 2, Kochadaiyaan and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani releases. She has also reunited with Shah Rukh Khan for Chennai Express after Om Shanti Om besides working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Ram Leela.