PremiumPriyanka Chopra on her Hollywood journey: First few roadblocks were convincing people that a brown girl can be a leading actor
While promoting Citadel in India, Priyanka Chopra opened up on her decade-long journey in Hollywood, the roadblocks and how she overcame them…
Priyanka Chopra at Mumbai promotions of Citadel (Image via Twitter)
Last Updated: 01.04 AM, Apr 28, 2023
Priyanka Chopra Jonas is a force to reckon with. The actress has been hailed not only for her commendable performances in Hindi films (Fashion, Barfi, Bajirao Mastani among others), but has also managed to make a mark in the West. Whether it’s Quantico (2015-18) or Baywatch (2017), her performance has always been much appreciated by fans and critics alike. The actress has clocked over a decade working in Hollywood. The journey surely wouldn’t have been a cakewalk.
During a group interaction with media persons while promoting her upcoming Prime Video web series – Citadel in India, Priyanka opened up about her 10-year-long journey in Hollywood, and the hurdles she faced and overcame among other things. The actress exclaimed that there were “So many roadblocks, right?” and added, “Like when I first started, this is (back in) 2010-11, I started doing music and very quickly realized that that's not my strong suit (chuckles) toh mujhe acting mein hi wapas jana chahiye (so I thought I should get back to acting).”
“So, I think the first few roadblocks were convincing people that a brown girl can be a leading actor. And my quest was that, because I came from Hindi movies where I was a leading actor, and I did (convince them). I had to build myself very slowly, as you have to do, in every industry,” she continued.
The desi girl went on to say, “Even when I started in Bollywood, I started with smaller roles and slowly built myself as I had credibility. So wahaan pe bhi jaa ke (there also) I had to do the same thing. I've told you all before, I used to go in with my showreel. I've shown directors, ke yeh maine kaam kiya hai (this is the kind of work I’ve done). I would love to get this kind of work. I did smaller roles and finally, slowly built credibility to where Quantico happened to me. And then after that, I wanted to do features.”
“So, the roadblock really was convincing people that I can do that. And that was the game. The aim was always to be able to get to a point where I can shoulder the responsibility of a film, as I have in my Indian movies, to be able to do that in America as well. And yes, it took 10 years, but here I am,” the Citadel star smiled and signed off.