‘I feel like a debutant’

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“I have never believed in planning anything in life. For every choice I have made in life, professional and personal, I have always relied on my instincts,” says actress Priyanka Chopra.

Having proven her mettle in acting with films like Fashion and Barfi, Priyanka has also created an impact with her latest single, Exotic, where she is paired opposite Pitbull. Dressed in a blood red pant-suit and immensely vocal about the rights of the girl child, Bollywood’s very own desi girl was in the capital for the NDTV Vedanta Initiate Our Girls Our Pride.
“My mother is a gynaecologist and since my childhood I have seen her surrounded by women and children. She has had a huge impact in my life. Coming from a small town like Bareilly, I have seen many young girls being deprived of basic rights like education, health and many of them are refrained from following their heart. So the cause of the girl child’s empowerment is very close to my heart and the way forward for our nation,” said Priyanka.
With a skewed sex ratio like ours (840 girls to 1,000 boys), it is essential to draw more and more attention to rights deserved by the girl child, she adds. The actress has been a part of various other social initiatives like the Girl Up campaign by UN, is the Unicef ambassador for My World Campaign and is soon planning to open her own foundation for looking into health and education.
Known for portraying glamorous roles, the former Miss World stepped out of her comfort zone to give her career-best performance till date in Barfi. How does she pick and choose her films? “I have never been to any acting school and started very early in the industry at the age of 18. It took me a few years to arrive at a point where filmmakers could see me as someone who can do any kind of role. As a Hindi film heroine I love performing in hardcore commercial ventures like Agneepath, Krrish and Don. At the same time, I like taking up offbeat films like Saat Khoon Maaf and Barfi. I like to go in for a mixed bag of films,” she replies.
She has an interesting kitty lined up for the year starting with an Disney animation film, Planes followed by Zanjeer, Krrish 3 and the much talked-about biopic on Mary Kom. “All of them are so different from each other. I am hyper excited about Planes in which I will be giving the voiceover for the character of Princess Ishani. Every girl wants to play a princess at some point in life! Zanjeer and Krrish 3 are typical ‘boy films’ with loads of action and masala. I play the quintessential Hindi film heroine in them. And finally Mary Kom’s biopic for which I had to undergo rigorous physical training and learn a new sport altogether,” adds the dusky diva.
With Bollywood churning out cinema that intends to promote a certain cause or is ‘realist’, does she feel slightly apprehensive about taking up male-dominated commercial ventures? “Not really. Movies are meant for entertainment and it is unfair to always expect them to reflect ‘real-life’ situations. Yes, when I get a chance to take up the latter, why not! But I equally want to do commercial potboilers, even those ones that have me only in few scenes. In my early days, I read an article by Amitabh sir where he said the length of a role doesn’t matter as long as it leaves an impact,” she asserts.
Priyanka was very close to her father and she has often mentioned that he wanted to see her as a singer. As her second album has hit the stands, how does it feel? “I feel like a debutant all over again! I feel scared since I am going into another culture completely but the support of my fans has helped immensely. Both my songs have given me opportunities to grow as a musician and I will continue my singing career alongside acting. I love singing and all I want to do is perform,” she says. Infact, she wouldn’t mind if a playback offer comes her way. “I don’t think too much. If I am in the mood, I might just do it,” she quips.