FIT REPORT

As a public figure, it’s my social responsibility to give back in things that I feel very strongly about. I think women’s rights and female empowerment and the education of girls is hugely important from the very beginning.

NY: What drives your feelings about this issue?

PC : When a woman is financially independent, she has strength and she can walk with confidence. As soon as a woman has confidence she is independent. She does not need to depend on a man nor does she need to depend on someone for her livelihood. The basic right of a girl is to feel the strength within her, that she is complete. Education gives you an awareness of the world and the ability to be able to support yourself. NY: What about options for women in abusive relationships who feel they have no escape? PC: Abusive relationships are like quicksand. You can’t get out of it because you think you have nothing else, or you think you won’t be able to survive without it. I’m not even suggesting that someone take a big leap. I’m just saying empower yourself first before you change your life around. Just have a little bit of strength to stand up on your own. The simplest way of doing that is being financially independent by finding a job or a steady income. An education can do that, too. NY: The topic of female genitalia mutilation has been a topic you are vocal about. Tell us your thoughts. PC: First of all, it’s bizarre to me that we are in 2015 and something like that still happens. There are parts of the world where girls are not treated as human beings. They are treated as commodities for reproduction and not as humans. There are women in the world who don’t know what a TV looks like, who don’t have an opinion, who are not able to speak to anyone. That is their life. I want to be able to fight for change, even if it is just a little. NY: How would you describe yourself. Would you say that you are impulsive? PC: I am impulsive, but my life doesn’t allow me to be impulsive. My life is on a schedule. I can tell you right now where I will be six months later, on the second week of January. I need permission from my managers to go away. I really believe that if you work very hard in whatever opportunity you have today and tomorrow and the day after, and you don’t find excuses and you don’t stop, then you will never be denied. No one can deny someone who just works and is not afraid of hard work. NY: What about alone time?

PC: It is very difficult to handle two active careers in two different continents. I’m trying to do that and it’s the price I pay, which is fine. I love what I do and I know that when life ends, I want to be able to leave a legacy behind.

NY: Where do you see yourself a few years down the road? PC: As a mom. I definitely want to have kids. I have always loved kids, ever since I was a kid. I never plan my future, but the only thing I definitely plan on doing is having children. Other than that, I don’t know where life will take me. NY: Do you feel you live a healthy lifestyle? PC: By God’s grace I am healthy. Am I health conscious? No. I am a junk food junkie. I know it is the worst thing but I love it. NY: What about exercise? PC: I do when I have to. I was in a boxing movie about two years ago that I had to train for six months and now that I am doing Quantico, I have to train. But if I don’t have to I try not to. NY: You have been applauded for researching and training to understand the characters you portray on screen. In one such movie, the critically acclaimed Barfi!, you convincingly portray a woman with autism. PC: It was a very difficult part. I play this 19-year-old autistic girl and the director came to my house to film me. I came back from an event and he looked at me and says, “I don’t think we can do this. How will I make people forget that you are Priyanka Chopra?” I said, “Give me five days and let me work with you.” We went to different schools, spent a lot of time with different disabled children, and I also did a lot of research. Autism has such a huge range—from Aspergers to very slight autism. We worked together, and five days later Jhilmil was born and we never looked back. I was like, “Thank God I pulled it off.” NY: Is it hard for you to accept “no”? PC: I hate “no.” I have authority issues. I don’t like people telling me I can’t do something because it makes me want to do it even more. As a kid, my mom used to use that against me. She used reverse psychology. She would say, “I don’t want you to eat tonight,” and I would be like, “I’m going to eat so much that you won’t know where the food in the kitchen went!” So stupid. I don’t like being told I can’t do something. NY: Do you have any regrets? PC: I don’t have any regrets. Each failure has taught me how to never be in that situation again. When I started working in movies and I didn’t know anything about hair, makeup, clothes, overtime, I taught myself about these things. When films fail, it does not mean the actors or characters fail. These are little things you learn over time. NY: Do you have trust issues? PC: No, I am very trusting. I believe in the goodness of people. I absolutely believe that there’s no right or wrong. Everything is a perspective and people are inherently not bad. There is always a reason why everyone does something, and if we look at why a certain person does something we would understand the world a little better. I am all for tolerance. NY: Do you think people look at the negative instead of the positive first? PC: We are always judging people, and it’s no one else’s business what someone does. It’s your life. You need to live it.