Priyank a Chopra: I couldn’t have survived had I listened to what everybody thought

Ever since her acting debut in 2003, Priyanka Chopra Jonas has proved herself in every work that has come her way. The global star says she performs better when under pressure but does not take the stress from other people’s expectations.

Ever since her acting debut in 2003, Priyanka Chopra Jonas has proved herself in every work that has come her way. The global star says she performs better when under pressure but does not take the stress from other people’s expectations.

The former Miss World, who is currently creating waves internationally with her stellar performances, says she was always told that she wouldn’t be able to do it.

Proving everyone wrong, Priyanka, who is one of India’s highest-paid and most popular entertainers, in a chat with IANS said: “I do put pressure on myself. When I put pressure on myself I perform better, I take decisions and work well under pressure. But I don’t take pressure from other people’s expectations.

“I never have because I would never be able to survive if I was listening to what everybody thought. I have always been told that ‘Yeh thodi na kar payegi’ and ‘you won’t be able to do it’. I have always heard that but I just keep walking forward and keep doing my work.”

The 39-year-old star garnered immense success with her powerpacked performance in the ‘Fashion’ in 2008. Since then there was no looking back for Priyanka.

The actress swept the audiences off their feet with her work in fi lms such as ‘Mary Kom’, ‘7 Khoon Maaf’, ‘Barfi !’, ‘Kaminey’, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘The Sky Is Pink’ and ‘The White Tiger’ to name a few.

That’s not all!

In Hollywood, Priyanka earned global recognition with her work in the thriller series ‘Quantico’ and followed that a string of hits such as ‘Baywatch’, ‘A Kid Like Jake’, ‘Isn’t it Romantic’,’We Can Be Heroes’ and now she awaits the release of the much talked about fi lm ‘The Matrix Resurrections’.

How does she take her own game a notch higher?

“I have said this from the beginning that I think that life is a journey, ambition is a journey. Everything is a ladder, you have to take one step forward and two steps back. So I always try… especially now in Hollywood I started from the beginning like about seven-eight years ago.”

Priyanka had her own share of struggles in Hollywood too.

“I had to, as a new actor, introduce myself working towards being able to get roles like this and playing leading parts.”

Priyanka added: “It’s taken a while because I think it is required to educate this side of the world that South Asian talents can be mainstream but I feel very proud to be able to do that now and I always as an artiste try to better myself in everything I do.”

The Jamshedpur-born actress, who celebrated her third marriage anniversary with her American pop star husband Nick Jonas, also talked about the challenges of shooting a fi lm like ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ starring Keanu Reeves.

Priyanka said: “It is a very diffi cult task to take on… We almost shot for seven-eight months and also we shot during Covid. So, that was diffi cult. Also, the scale of the movie. I think there was a lot of pressure on everyone.”

“But we have an amazing team, such an amazing technical team behind the movie that it was bound to be in great hands.”

Warner Bros Pictures is all set to release ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ pan-India last year in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA I couldn’t have survived had I listened to what everybody thought

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SPECIAL DESIGNS FOR YOUR SPECIAL DAY!

From playing a gay person on screen in the 2020 fi lm ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ to falling in love with a transgender woman in his movie ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’, the poster boy of content-driven cinema Ayushmann Khurrana has made ends meet to spread awareness about the LGBT community.

Unfortunate that LGBTQ community is invisible in our society

AYUSHMANN KHURRANA

Talking to IANS about the LGBTQ community still not getting the acceptance they deserve in today’s time, Ayushmann, who is a strong believer of inclusivity, said: “It’s unfortunate that the LGBTQ community is very invisible in our society.”

Cinema has seen an evolution in the representation, says Ayushmann, who has been feted with a National Film Award.

“We have seen them being represented in a very different manner on screen in the past. We have come a long way from ‘Maharani’ (‘Sadak’) on screen to ‘Maanvi’ in ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’.”

The actor, who has appeared in Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list of 2013 and 2019 and has been named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020 by Time Magazine, does not mince words when it comes to creating awareness about inclusivity.

“It is part of our social responsibility as an artiste to give something back to the society and it is required, it is the need of the hour. It is a 2021 film and in 2022... be more inclusive as a society. I think this film may trigger a small change.”

The 37-year-old has given back-to-back hits such as ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, ‘Andhadhun’, ‘Article 15’, ‘Bala’ and ‘Dream Girl’ to name a few in his nine-year journey in Hindi cinema. The future too is bright as he has several films lined up such as ‘Anek’, ‘Doctor G’ and ‘Action Hero’.

With so many hopes and responsibilities riding on him, does Ayushmann ever feel the pressure?

“I think it is a happy expectation and I am glad that people expect something out of me because there is pressure to choose the right kind of scripts and parts... I have played in the past nine years it needs to solidify because there are certain benchmarks in the past I have achieved and I think the pressure will always be there but it’s a happy expectation I think from my side,” he said.

There are no limits when it comes to pushing boundaries for Ayushmann. The Chandigarh-born actor underwent rigorous training to flaunt a well-chiselled body in his latest film.

Talking about the hard training he underwent, Ayushmann recalled: “That was the toughest part for me till now. I had never had this kind of a transformation in the past and this was something which was required for the character of the film and I was waiting for a film where I could undergo this change physically and I am glad this happened with ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’.”

LARA DUTTA An actor can create magic on sets

Lara Dutta’s digital debut ‘Hiccups and Hookups’, directed by Kunal Kohli, has set the stage for the entry of Lionsgate Play in India. The show revolves around a modern Indian family, who are quite open about talking about pretty much anything that is considered a taboo in our society, from their dating to their sex lives.

Lara, who played Vasudha Rao, a single mother separated from her husband at the age of 40, spoke with IANS about the show, her thoughts on the changing nature of conversations on taboo subjects and how she approaches a character. Excerpts from the conversation.

Talking about the mix of nervous energy and excitement with which she views the show, the actress, who was most recently in the news for playing Mrs Indira Gandhi in ‘Bell Bottom’, said: “For an actor, every single release brings along a nervous energy. But when it’s ready, when you see the fi nished product, it’s always made for the audience, we don’t make things for ourselves. There’s also excitement when you feel like you’ve been a part of something really special, crazy and fun.”

Speaking specifi cally about the central theme of ‘Hiccups and Hookups’, Lara said: “Picking up a subject like this and presenting it in a relatable and humorous way, and to normalise a lot of things that are considered taboo subjects in a contemporary way, is what makes it truly special.”

Sharing how she approaches a character, the actress said: “When I hear a story, I already start seeing certain scenes in my head, imagining what those scenes would look like on screen. For ‘Hiccups and Hookups’, I was the fi rst actor to be cast, followed by Prateik (Babbar) and Shinnova.”

Explaining how the creative process works, she added: “So, when the actors are cast, once everyone starts doing table reads together, once everybody gets on sets, it (the story) evolves in many ways. The beauty of it is that what sounded one way on paper, can completely transform and elevate when brought to screen. That’s the best part of being an actor: you create magic on sets.”

When asked about her source of inspiration for the show, Lara said: “You draw inspiration from people you interact with, from the observations you make in routine life and circumstances that life throws at you.”

Lauding her director, Kunal Kohli, the actress said she was confi dent about her character in the show because of him.

Concluding her conversation with IANS, she said: “Having Kunal Kohli helm this project, I knew right off the bat that I was in the hands of an impeccable director.Kunal is a director who has a certain sensitivity and sensibility about the way he sketches his female characters for the screen.”