A couple of days ago, Priyanka Chopra returned to India from the US. The actor, who is soon going to make her much-awaited Hollywood debut in Baywatch, will be seen playing an antagonist. Apart from getting accolades by audiences and the media in the US, the actor recently also bagged a global icon award on the home turf. Excerpts from the interview:
Have you seen an attitudinal shift in people, now that you’re a global star?
I don’t like to pay attention to that, because I don’t think that way. I am not part of this profession for the fame. Fame is incidental. To me, it is more about the satisfaction of being able to achieve and being successful. I want to be able to leave behind a legacy for being an achiever and a girl. Women don’t get the opportunity to be fearless often. We always have to end up being dependent on men, in a lot of ways, because we live in a male-dominated world. My parents raised me differently. They raised me as an opinionated girl, and equally, like my brother (Siddharth Chopra). I pay attention to the next thing that I am going to do or achieve. I don’t like to sit back and revel in what I have just achieved, because ho gaya na abhi (it is done now). What next? (laughs)
Do you plan your career?
I never plan my career. I have never planned life. I am a big believer in the fact that ‘Man proposes God disposes’. The only thing we can do is work hard on the opportunities that come our way. I am not a planner. I don’t understand strategies. Contrary to what people believe, I don’t understand PR (public relations). My work is like Saraswati (the goddess of learning) for me. It is knowledge; it is art, and I treat it that way. The work that I do is a very spiritual experience.
Will you go to extremes to physically transform yourself for a role?
I don’t think gaining or losing weight is a transformation. For me, the biggest physical change was to get in shape for Mary Kom (2014) — to look like a boxer who’s been boxing for 15 years, and to know the sport. If you put me in a ring, I might not win, but I’ll know how to box. I think that was one of my biggest wins when it comes to physical change.
Watch: Baywatch Official Trailer - Teaser (2017)
Would you like to venture into direction as well?
I don’t know. Creativity works in different ways. I have written columns for publications as well, so maybe I will write someday. I don’t know about direction yet, because I don’t feel confident enough to captain the ship. I am definitely a creative producer. I know everything about the business, though. I don’t know where my life will go. Like I said, I don’t plan it.
How about penning a book someday?
Maybe, but not yet. Where am I going to sit down to write? Even a column takes a really long time. Right now, I am busy flying back and forth to manage my careers in two different continents. I don’t even sleep enough. I don’t have the bandwidth right now to think about what I am going to do after this.
How do you balance it all?
It’s just simple math. You work hard and strive for excellence every single day. Eventually, that will always get you to success. That’s simple mathematics. That’s how I treat my career. I work hard on opportunities every day. It eventually leads to whatever it ends up leading to.
Have you seen an attitudinal shift in people, now that you’re a global star?
I don’t like to pay attention to that, because I don’t think that way. I am not part of this profession for the fame. Fame is incidental. To me, it is more about the satisfaction of being able to achieve and being successful. I want to be able to leave behind a legacy for being an achiever and a girl. Women don’t get the opportunity to be fearless often. We always have to end up being dependent on men, in a lot of ways, because we live in a male-dominated world. My parents raised me differently. They raised me as an opinionated girl, and equally, like my brother (Siddharth Chopra). I pay attention to the next thing that I am going to do or achieve. I don’t like to sit back and revel in what I have just achieved, because ho gaya na abhi (it is done now). What next? (laughs)
Do you plan your career?
I never plan my career. I have never planned life. I am a big believer in the fact that ‘Man proposes God disposes’. The only thing we can do is work hard on the opportunities that come our way. I am not a planner. I don’t understand strategies. Contrary to what people believe, I don’t understand PR (public relations). My work is like Saraswati (the goddess of learning) for me. It is knowledge; it is art, and I treat it that way. The work that I do is a very spiritual experience.
Will you go to extremes to physically transform yourself for a role?
I don’t think gaining or losing weight is a transformation. For me, the biggest physical change was to get in shape for Mary Kom (2014) — to look like a boxer who’s been boxing for 15 years, and to know the sport. If you put me in a ring, I might not win, but I’ll know how to box. I think that was one of my biggest wins when it comes to physical change.
Watch: Baywatch Official Trailer - Teaser (2017)
Would you like to venture into direction as well?
I don’t know. Creativity works in different ways. I have written columns for publications as well, so maybe I will write someday. I don’t know about direction yet, because I don’t feel confident enough to captain the ship. I am definitely a creative producer. I know everything about the business, though. I don’t know where my life will go. Like I said, I don’t plan it.
How about penning a book someday?
Maybe, but not yet. Where am I going to sit down to write? Even a column takes a really long time. Right now, I am busy flying back and forth to manage my careers in two different continents. I don’t even sleep enough. I don’t have the bandwidth right now to think about what I am going to do after this.
How do you balance it all?
It’s just simple math. You work hard and strive for excellence every single day. Eventually, that will always get you to success. That’s simple mathematics. That’s how I treat my career. I work hard on opportunities every day. It eventually leads to whatever it ends up leading to.
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