DJ Caruso, director of Deepika Padukone's debut Hollywood film xXx: Return of Xander Cage says Piku starring the actress in lead role broke his misconceptions about Bollywood being "escapist".
The filmmaker, who recently visited India along with Deepika, 31, and action star Vin Diesel, compared the Shoojit Sircar-directed film with Alexander Payne's movies, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Piku shattered my misconceptions about Bollywood being escapist. It was like an Alexander Payne (The Descendants) movie," Caruso said.
The filmmaker decided to cast Deepika in the third instalment of xXx franchise after he saw her audition for a Fast and Furious film and liked her chemistry with Diesel.
"Though she couldn't be part of that project due to scheduling issues. But I liked the chemistry between (Padukone and Diesel), which is why I cast her," he said.