Deepika Padukone will take on one of her most challenging roles to date when she plays the lead character in the upcoming movie Chhapaak.

The 33-year-old unveiled the first look at her character Malti in the drama, for which she has undergone prosthetics to transform into an acid attack survivor.

Deepika tweeted: ‘A character that will stay with me forever…#Malti Shoot begins today!#Chhapaak’, and was praised by Bollywood colleagues for the poster.

While Deepika’s character is called Malti, she is based on the real life survivor Laxmi Agarwal – whose harrowing story is sure to provide an inspiring script.

Laxmi was just 15 when her life changed forever, when a stalker whose advances she had rejected on numerous occasions attacked her.

Laxmi is a vocal campaigner for a ban on the sale of acid (Picture: Sarang Gupta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
In 2005, the teenager was on her way to her job in a bookshop near Khan Market, New Dehli, when 32-year-old Naeem Khan, or Guddu, and an accomplice accosted her and threw a beer bottle of acid over her face, chest and hands.

Laxmi stayed in hospital for three months and underwent numerous surgeries, and did not see the damage that had been done for weeks after the attack.

She told the Indian Express: ‘After the attack, I was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and stayed there for nearly three months. There were no mirrors in the ward I was in. Every morning, the nurse would bring me a bowl of water to help me freshen up, and I would try to catch my reflection in that water. I would only see glimpses of a bandaged face.

‘I used to have a scar on my nose before the attack; I would tell the doctor to remove that during the operation. When I first saw my face afterwards, I was devastated. I had no face to speak of. My eyes were misshapen.’

Despite her devastating injuries, Laxmi chose to fight back. A year after the attack, she filed a Public Interest Litigation, alongside another survivor, to seek a ban on acid, for the Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act and Criminal Procedure Code to deal with acid attacks, and for compensation to be provided to acid attack survivors.

In 2013, the Supreme Court issued new restrictions on the sale of acid, including a ban on sale to minors and showing a photo identity card before buying it, among other such restrictions.

The following year, Laxmi was one of then women awarded the US State Department’s International Women of Courage Award, with then First Lady Michelle Obama presenting it to her.

Laxmi is mum to three-year-old Pihu (Picture: Instagram)
The same year, Laxmi embarked on a relationship with Alok Dixit founder of Stop Acid Attack, with the couple deciding not to get married.

She explained: ‘We have decided to live together until we die. But we are challenging the society by not getting married. We don’t want people to come to our wedding and comment on my looks. The looks of a bride are most important for people. So, we decided not to have any ceremony.’

Laxmi and Alok welcomed their daughter Pihu in 2015, but sadly, the couple have since split up, with Laxmi revealing she was financially struggling as she was unable to get a ‘regular’ job.

However, within weeks of her revealing she was on the cusp of eviction, job offers and financial help rolled in, and it was announced that Meghna Gulzar would be directing a film based on her life.

Deepika, who is said to have met Laxmi before beginning filming, told the Mumbai Mirror: ‘When I heard this story, I was deeply moved as it’s not just one of violence but of strength and courage, hope and victory. It made such an impact on me, that personally and creatively, I needed to go beyond and so the decision to turn producer.’