The books were not recommended to her by the filmmaker, but just something she picked up as she was prepping for her role
DNA (November 23, 2016)

Deepika Padukone, who loves reading biographies, has now started catching up on history. Informs a source, “Deepika loves reading biographies. She initially started reading novels pertaining to the Rajputana era because of her role as Queen Padmavati in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film and now has got hooked to it. She loves that era with its tales of bravery, love and passion, how the Rajputs lived, what they ate, their social life, etc. The books were not recommended to her by the filmmaker, but just something she picked up as she was prepping for her role. So, now, in her spare time she reads books around that era and if you drop in to meet her you will find the actress with her nose buried deep in the thick tomes of history. This interest has got nothing to do with Padmavati as much as it is to read up on the subject.”