Priyanka Chopra: I find solace in work

Less than three months ago, Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra lost her father to cancer. The former Miss World, who was famously close to her father (she has the words Daddy’s Lil Girl tattooed on her wrist) was shattered. But she didn’t wallow in her grief for too long: Within two weeks, she resumed work. When tabloid! caught up with the actress over the phone to talk about her latest release, Zanjeer, Chopra was the picture of resilience.

“My work is my solace,” said Chopra, the self-made star from Bareilly, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

“Maybe it’s cowardice, escapism or resilience. I haven’t figured it out. But these days, I put my blinders on and go to work. That’s all I do,” she added.

In between flying to Los Angeles to attend the premiere of her Hollywood animation Planes, filming her music video with rapper Pitbull for her single Exotic in Miami and promoting her Bollywood release Zanjeer across India, Chopra hasn’t had a dull moment. She’s flitting between Bollywood, Hollywood and anywhere in between. And she’s loving it.

“For me, it’s not a crossover. Work is universal, it’s global and where it goes, I will go along with it. My work is my worship. Through my work, I am able to explore so many facets of my personality as a creative person,” said Chopra. But don’t be fooled by her confident exterior.

Uncharted waters

“All of it is a bit scary because I am going into uncharted waters. No one [in Bollywood] has been in that space here … very few actors. But I want to give everything that’s coming my way a shot. I am willing to explore,” said Chopra.

While Bollywood is courting her with grave roles such as playing Olympic boxer Mary Kom, she looks up to hip-hop heavyweights Will.I.Am and Pitbull to bolster her international pop singer dreams. In the midst of all this controlled chaos comes along Zanjeer, the remake of the iconic Amitabh Bachchan hit. There’s no easy way to say this, but we wonder if Chopra could just be glorified eye-candy in the role.

“Sometimes, it’s really nice to be a part of a film that’s not all about you. I have done so many films that are intense. It was good to take a break — be a part of a boy’s film,” said Chopra. Her strategy has always been to mix the serious with the frivolous. For every award-winning Barfi! (in which she played am autistic deaf-mute), there’s an Agneepath (in which she played a pretty village belle).

“I like being eye candy sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with it. I don’t follow norms. But let’s face it, Bollywood is a boy-dominated movie business. Let’s not try to shy away from that. But once in a while, it’s good to be a part of the film where the pressure is not completely on you,” said Chopra. She plays an angry cop’s girlfriend, Mala, a role originally played by Jaya Bachchan.

“Mala is an adorable character. She’s talkative and fun and she’s almost like a comic relief in a film filled with all action and intense characters,” said Chopra. The 1973 blockbuster is a drama of a righteous police officer who seeks revenge when he’s wrongfully imprisoned. It spawned the title ‘angry young man’ in the Bollywood lexicon.

Toying with classics

Ask her if it’s a good idea to toy around with classics, and Chopra defends the Bollywood trend. Zanjeer is her third modern-day remake, after modern takes on Don and Agneepath.

“I always believe that every film has its own destiny. I have been part of two films that have gone on to make money and become big blockbusters. So that myth that classics can’t be remade has been broken. Some work and some don’t. But what every filmmaker is trying to do while remaking a classic is to present films to a generation who may not have watched the original. I know for a fact that Apoorva [Lakhia, director of the modern-day Zanjeer] came into the movie business because of Zanjeer. It left such an impact on him.”

She may believe in the cause of remakes, but she looks to her fans for support. She owes her experimental, adventurous streak to her supporters whom she calls “the wind beneath my wings”.

“I have had some very tough times. I have been alone in my struggle but I never felt alone because of my fans and my supporters. They never made me feel like I can’t do something. They have always been with me: good, bad and the ugly.”