It was in 2015 that Priyanka Chopra began her journey in the West with her role in Quantico. Now, a decade later, after establishing herself in the global entertainment industry, the actor has opened up about navigating tense relationships in India at the peak of her career.
Reflecting on that phase, Priyanka said she doesn’t like to “stay in s**t,” implying that it pushed her to explore opportunities and build a career in Hollywood.
Priyanka on tense relationships in Bollywood
Recently, Priyanka joined Amanda Hirsch’s Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, where she spoke about her decision to venture into the West.
When asked about the bug that came to her mind about exploring the American film industry, Priyanka said, “When I was working back in India, I started feeling limited… I wanted to be able to see what else was out there. Besides Mindy Kaling and Aishwarya Rai, there were very few female or male Indian actors in Hollywood. And I was like why don’t we have that representation. It made me think of myself as that girl who was in the 9th grade in America, where nobody looks like me… I didn’t think about it (much) at that time, but as someone who was starting to seek work in Hollywood, I thought where do I stand? How do I begin?… It came from the need to want and see what the possibilities were there.”
During the chat, Priyanka was also questioned about “tense relationships with some of the stuff going on in India with the movie scene”.
To this, Priyanka responded, “Nothing is an easy ride. We all have battles that we have to handle. I am someone who just doesn’t like staying in the s**t because then you get used to the smell. I am a big believer in pivoting. When life gets tough, we are so resilient as human beings, we have the ability to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, take a minute to feel emotional and feel the pain, and then pivot.”
She admitted that she has done that many times in her career, adding that there was no clear path for her when she decided to try her luck in Hollywood. Priyanka said that there wasn’t much of a precedent before her, so she gave it a shot, mentioning that the only thing she knew was that “I’m a hard worker and I know my job. Put me on a set with any filmmaker or co-actor, and I’ll stand toe-to-toe”.
Priyanka’s journey in the West
After making a name in Bollywood, Priyanka walked towards the West with a lead role in ABC’s Quantico in 2015. And she has not looked back since then. Priyanka made her Hollywood debut in a negative role with Baywatch in 2017, which also featured Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. The actor went on to be part of projects such as Matrix: Revolutions, Citadel, Love Again, and Isn’t It Romantic. At the moment, Priyanka stays in the US with her husband Nick Jonas. They have a daughter together, Malti Marie.
The actor was most recently seen in R-rated pirate adventure The Bluff as Bloody Mary, along with her co-star Karl Urban. The film was released on Prime Video on February 25. She is also set to return to Indian cinema after years with SS Rajamouli’s Telugu film Varanasi, which also stars Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran. The film will be released in theatres for Sankranthi 2027. Priyanka also has the second season of the web series Citadel in the pipeline.