Over the years, Priyanka Chopra has carved a niche for herself as an all-round performer on screen. A National Award-winning actor, she has done it all – fights, dances, emotional scenes.
But the actor admits she was not always this good at everything. In a new interview, she says she was ‘dreadful’ at dance when she started her film career, to the point where a choreographer yelled at her on set.
‘I was a dreadful dancer’
In a new interview with Vogue Arabia, Priyanka recalled her early days in Bollywood. “I was a dreadful dancer when I first started. I was not able to act and nail the choreography at the same time, plus coordinate with my co-star. It was just too many things for my 19- or 20-year-old brain,” she recalled.
Priyanka said this inability led to a confrontation with senior choreographer Raju Khan on the sets of one of her first films. “I was filming with Raju Khan in South Africa and missing my marks. He got so upset with me that he threw the mic down, saying, ‘You might come from a pageant, but learn how to dance before you become an actress. ‘ He just walked away, and I was so embarrassed,” she added. The actor added that she and Raju Khan are ‘great friends’ now.
How Katrina Kaif helped Priyanka
Katrina told the publication that in order to become a better dancer and overcome the challenge, she began to study dance and practised six hours a day with Katrina Kaif. At that time, Katrina was another up-and-coming Bollywood starlet, but was already known for her dance prowess among the audience. Priyanka turned that image of ‘dreadful dancer’ around, appearing in dance numbers like Desi Girl and Ram Chaahe Leela over the next few years.
Priyanka Chopra’s recent and upcoming work
Priyanka was most recently seen in Amazon Prime Video’s The Bluff, a pirate actioner that also starred Karl Urban in the lead. The film was among the most-watched on streaming worldwide at the time of its release last month. The actor is set to make her comeback to Indian cinema after eight years with SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi. The pan-India time-travel adventure stars Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran, and is set to release in April 2027.