Priyanka Chopra recently looked back at her experience of playing Jhilmil Chatterjee in the 2012 film ‘Barfi!’, which also starred Ranbir Kapoor and Ileana D’Cruz. The movie, directed by Anurag Basu, is now considered a classic, and Priyanka’s performance is remembered as one of her best. As the film is about to complete 13 years since its release, she shared how the role came to her and the effort it took to bring Jhilmil to life.
Moments from ‘Barfi!’Priyanka Chopra shared a video montage on Instagram featuring her moments from ‘Barfi!’ and, in the caption, looked back on her experience she revealed “In Jan 2009, while filming ‘Anjaana Anjaani’ in New York with Ranbir Kapoor, he mentioned his next, Barfi! With Anurag Basu, a filmmaker I admired. So when Sir offered me Jhilmil, I was thrilled. We met at my Mumbai home, I’d just returned from an event, dressed to the nines. He took one look and said he couldn’t imagine me as Jhilmil. I understood, I didn’t want to mess it up either. We agreed to workshop for 5 days.”
“We immersed ourselves in research, reading, watching videos, meeting children on the autism spectrum, and doing exercises in his Aram Nagar office. One day, he asked me to hurl vile Hindi expletives at him. Mortified, I still tried, it was hilarious, liberating, and pulled me out of my comfort zone. After more “Basu-style” drills, Jhilmil was born,” she added.
Priyanka said many scenes in the film were improvised and that the project holds a special place in her heart, as it was one of the last times her father visited her on a film set before his passing in 2013.