Braving the heat, hundreds of onlookers thronged the capital's Connaught Place area Thursday to catch a glimpse of Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, who came to launch a new boutique of Swiss watch brand Tissot and its new range of watches.

The pressure of the crowd, who waited for almost an hour in the extreme heat to see the 23-year-old actress, was so much that even the elaborate flower decorations outside the store, came off the poles.

"I got to know that Deepika is coming to this shop. So I was waiting to catch a glimpse of her, but when she arrived the place got so jam-packed that I could not even see her face, " said 18-year-old Anushka, who stood outside the store with two of her friends.

The crowd nearly broke into a stampede when the actress, wearing a short green dress, stepped in. However, neither few of the media persons inside the store nor most of the fans outside could see her well.

"I am here to cover the event but for a minute I thought that I would get crushed or suffocated due to the crowd, " said a news channel reporter.

Deepika, who did not stay at the venue for more than 20 minutes, spoke about the new collection Sea-Touch by Tissot besides taking a few questions about her forthcoming film "Love Aaj Kal".

"'Love Aaj Kal' is an out and out romantic film. It talks about relations of the earlier times and relationships today. It talks of love that used to be and love that is today. It is a complete family film. I just hope that it does well since it is a great film and very special to me, " she said.

"Love Aaj Kal" also stars Saif Ali Khan and has been directed by Imtiaz Ali of "Jab We Met" fame.