13 January,2017 08:53 AM IST | | Sonil Dedhia
Hollywood star Vin Diesel, who is in Mumbai for promotions and premiere of his film 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage', says he 'always' knew his chemistry with Deepika Padukone was special
Vin Diesel and Deepika Padukone
"I have never seen a reception on entering a country like the one I did this morning," Vin Diesel declared ahead of the premiere of his film, 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage', in Lower Parel last evening. The 'Fast and Furious' star, who joined 'xXx' co-actor Deepika Padukone for the India promotions, was referring to the traditional dhol-tasha welcome that he received at the city airport yesterday.
Vin Diesel's welcome at the airport; with Deepika at the press meet. Pic/Shadab Khan, Sayyed Sameer Abedi
"The music, the culture and the fact that people are so happy to celebrate is just incredible. Being in Mumbai is like a dream come true," the Hollywood actor said, adding, "In fact, when I reached the hotel room and started looking at my photographs [from the morning], I felt I was smiling too much. [That meant] I was genuinely happy and touched."
Known for pulling off high-octane stunts in his films, Vin confessed India had been on his must-visit list for long. Pointing to Deepika, he said, "This angel sitting next to me made it possible. It's such a blessing to have her in my life." He ended the statement with a peck on her cheek.
At the Premiere. Pic/Shadab Khan, Sayyed Sameer Abedi
"When we rolled out the film, she came to me with a request. She said, 'I would love to do a grand premiere in my home country'. We promised to make it here. So, the fact that we are here means that we delivered on our promise. I would really like to thank the entire country. I had yearned to work with Deepika for a long time. I first met her many years ago and always knew that our chemistry was something special."
Asked if he would like to collaborate with Deepika again, Vin paused and hinted at another instalment in the 'xXx' franchise. "If in May we are filming for XXX again, it would be evident how much I like working with her. She is very special to me and you can see that from my social media posts in the past year. You get to claim her because this is her origin [country], but she is the queen of the world," he added.
Deepika said "working together was written in our destiny". "We were supposed to collaborate earlier, but for various reasons, it didn't work out. I know for a fact that he will have my back, professionally as well as personally," she said.
