Priyanka Chopra has never sought to whitewash her early struggle. Even as she enjoys her enormous, hard-won success today, she is keen to give newcomers a better chance at finding the work they deserve through her production house Purple Pebble Pictures. In a recent interview, she spoke about how important it is for her to focus on regional cinema and give opportunities to young talent.
She candidly shared, “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.”
Admitting that when she joined films, she was already the winner of a beauty pageant and had it a little easy, she adds, “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.”
She reveals that it didn’t help that she didn’t know people, and didn’t go out for dinners and network. “I know that opportunities came to me because of merit. I know that opportunities were also taken from me because of these reasons,” she points out. This is the reason why today she wishes to have an open house philosophy in her production house.
Neo producer Priyanka, whose debut home production Ventilator (2017) won three National Awards, does not feel that her vision as an artist has changed since she started backing projects financially. She points out, “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.”
What with Purple Pebble producing Bhojpuri, Assamese and Sikkimese films too with fresh talent, Priyanka is surely walking the talk!
.jpg)
.jpg)
