Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra has turned a global icon. There is hardly anyone on Planet Earth who doesn’t know her. After engraving her name in golden letters in Bollywood, the actress carved a niche for herself in Hollywood but it wasn’t easy. PeeCee has frequently revealed that her initial days were not easy and even though she was famous, she had to introduce herself to everyone out there. Throwing light on her journey in Hollywood and how she wants to give Indian Cinema a global recognition, Priyanka opened her heart out in a recent interview.
Priyanka told Hindustan Times, “When I went to America,” she begins, “there wasn’t a precedence. I didn’t have a road map to follow because there was no one who had done it before. I had to figure it out, walk into rooms, introduce myself, say ‘I am an Indian actor, my name is Priyanka Chopra, these are the kind of films I want to do’. I demanded playing leading ladies, instead of having parts which were the stereotype of what a Bollywood actor would usually get. Those also came to me, but I was very clear about what I wanted to do.”
PeeCee also revealed that in Hollywood, Bollywood is reduced to a genre. She added, “I dug my feet in, persevered and did what I needed to do. I am so glad, and hope through me… it’s my life’s dream that Indian cinema becomes global. We are one of the biggest movie industries in the world, and we have been reduced to a genre? If you look on streaming services, you will see ‘horror’ ‘comedy’ ‘drama’ ‘Bollywood’. Bollywood is not a genre, it’s an entire industry! It’s my life’s dream to see Indian cinema and artists take over the West.”
However, for the last few years, things have changed. Talking about the positive shift that has happened in recent times with Indian actors like Ali Fazal, Radhika Apte, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and others breaking the boundaries and working abroad, PeeCee confessed that ‘its better’.
Another proud moment for the Quantico actress was when she struck a deal with Universal Studios about an all-Indian starcast in her upcoming Hollywood movie with Mindy Kaling. She said, “To me, it was a massive achievement when Mindy and I walked into Universal Studios, came out with a deal for an all-Indian starcast in a Hollywood movie, in a romantic comedy! That’s never happened in a mainstream rom-com! I remember, we came out, held our hands, we couldn’t believe it. It took us fighting the fight. I am hoping to be able to create so many more opportunities for Indian actors in my small way. I am obviously not saying I can change everything. But in my small way… that’s my quest.”
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