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Deepika Padukone came on The Ellen Show this week to talk about her American acting debut in XXX: Return of Xander Cage, and — when pressed by the host — the Bollywood beauty did little to dispel rumors of a romantic relationship with co-star Vin Diesel.

A photo posted by Vin Diesel (@vindiesel) on

While nowadays Padukone is being photographed on Diesel’s arm, years ago she had the makings of being a celebrity of a very different sort as she was following in the footsteps of her athletic father.

BADMINTON BLOODLINE

In 1980, Padukone’s father Prakash rose to No. 1 in the badminton world rankings after becoming the first Indian to win the men’s singles title at the prestigious All England Championship. A year later he also claimed the men’s single title at the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Fan card of Deepika Padukone, Indian actress and badminton enthusiast

Prakash’s love for badminton was passed to his daughter who showed great promise in the sport before her beauty led her first to fashion modeling, then to an acting career.

In 2013, following starring appearance in several Bollywood blockbusters, Padukone paired with her father for a exhibition badminton match versus fellow actor Aamir Khan and former national champion Aparna Popat.

LUNGI DANCERS

Back to the present, Padukone flashed her innate body control this week whilst appearing on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Together with the show’s host, she partook in the lungi dance, which Vin Diesel mistakingly thought was a classic dance step in India.