Is Priyanka Chopra opting out of her popular American TV show Quantico to return to Bollywood? The story’s been doing the rounds but trade pundits say this is unlikely. The actress, who is shooting the third season of the thriller drama series in Ireland currently, was in Mumbai earlier this month where she reportedly went through some Hindi scripts. Among them was Salman Khan’s Bharat which is to be directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and is a remake of the South Korean film Ode to My Father. Some sections of the media reported that the script of Bharat caught Priyanka’s fancy. The icing on this cake would be her pairing with Salman after God Tussi Great Ho in 2008. However, the actress gave no indication of wanting to be in this film.
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According to PeepingMoon.com sources, there is no way that Priyanka will give up the international stardom she got through Quantico to return home and exclusively do Hindi films. “If that is what she wanted then she would have not left Bollywood after being in a colossal hit like Bajirao Mastani,” said a source. “Priyanka aspired for international fame, she wanted to be on every magazine cover, on every big American chat show, she was keen on exploring new horizons.” It is true. The actress told Elle Canada in a cover story she did for May, “I’ve been in this business for 18 years now, and you reach a point where you know what you’re doing. I don’t want that. I want to refine myself artistically and find my new creative voice, my evolved voice. I’m on a quest to do that, whether it’s as a producer, a writer, an actor, or a musician. I’m on a ‘find myself’ sort of journey.”
This does not sound like the statement of an international star who wants to return to Bollywood, the source said. “Moreover, why would Priyanka put herself in a film like Bharat?” the source asked. “The hero indisputably is Salman himself here. Every actress knows that she has to be content to play second fiddle to Salman in his films. Will Priyanka be prepared to do that? Most certainly not. And Bharat will see Salman in five different avatars. The film spans seven decades and Zafar is keen on showing Salman in five different looks starting from the way he appeared in Maine Pyar Kiya to now. No matter how beautiful the story is, Bharat is going to be seen through the eyes of Salman’s character, there’s little for an actress to do in these circumstances. So even if Priyanka fears Quantico will lose steam if it pushes for a fourth season, she’s not going to chuck it up for Bharat.”