Priyanka Chopra: I was thrown out of the films because somebody’s daughter was recommended

By Aayushi Sharma

on May 22, 2018

Stardom is calculated every Friday in Bollywood. And besides the ginormous box office figures, your film rakes in, it's all about being in the right place at the right time. 18 years ago, Priyanka Chopra found herself standing at the beginning of a journey to infinite fame and global success. The former Miss World surely has the world dialed in and hangs out with creme de la creme of Hollywood, but she has indeed had her share of a few bumps along the way atop.

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In an interview with a leading daily, the 35-year-old recollected her initial days in the industry and has felt the heat of nepotism waves too, “When I entered Bollywood, everyone was somebody’s uncle or somebody’s daughter. It’s very difficult to get inside a production office if you are an actor from no [film] background. I know that it happened to me because I started like that.”

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And thus, when she forayed into production in the recent past, the Quantico actress wanted to lay down an open-house policy for her banner. “When I joined films, I was already winner of a beauty pageant and still had it a little easy. I got my first few films but I know that I was thrown out of the films because somebody else was recommended, who was somebody’s daughter. I didn’t know people, ki main dinners pe ja rahi hun and networking kar rahi hun. I know that opportunities came to be because of merit. I know that opportunities were also taken from me because of these reasons. I wanted to have an open house philosophy in my production house,” she told the daily.

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Reminiscing her past and the learnings from them, Priyanka shared that she wanted to play it fair and level up opportunities for outsiders as well. “My production company was set up with that in mind. Almost all directors we have worked — seven I think — are new directors. My route is very different and it’s a personal journey. The films that I make are important to me and I have a point of view that our entertainment has commercial value and it has a story,” she shared with the newspaper.

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“I don’t think I look at cinema (any) differently because I am a producer. I want to make the kind of films as a producer, which I may not have seen being made otherwise. Regional cinema, for instance, is one such (area of) focus for me and it was very important for me to give new talent [the right] opportunities,” quipped Priyanka.

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Priyanka, stars of Bajirao Mastani, Jai Gangaajal, Mary Kom, Barfi!, Aitraaz, Dostana amongst others has produced Marathi, Assamese, Bhojpuri and Sikkimese films so far. She recently announced her next Marathi venture - Paani. Her debut home production film - Ventilator (2017) had bagged three National Awards. She will be next seen in Salman Khan's Bharat.