Bollywood actress Esha Deol today said Deepika Padukone was her favourite among the actresses who were good at classical dancing.

The 34-year-old 'Dhoom' star praised her mother, noted actress-turned-politician Hema Malini, for promoting classical dance at a time when everybody was leaning towards western.

"Today everybody is learning Zumba, Salsa... I am happy my mom is still promoting our Indian classical dance.

There are a couple of actresses who are really good at it. In today's day, I would say I like Deepika a lot," Esha told reporters here.


She was speaking on the sidelines of 'Jaya Smriti', an annual dance event organised by Hema Malini, in memory of her mother, Jaya Chakravarthy.

"The aim of the event is to recognise young talents for their achievement in classical dance and singing. It is to preserve our classical dance forms and culture in this fast paced life. I want to take this forward and plan to hold the event in different cities in the future," Hema Malini said.

The 67-year-old 'Seeta Aur Geeta' actress also expressed her desire to open a dance academy. "I've been wanting to open a dance academy here since 15 years for promoting young talents, where every form of classical dance will be given importance," she added.