Why haven’t other Indian stars done it? That’s the question Priyanka Chopra Jonas says she is asked all the time and one to which she has no ready answer other than the fact that she left the baggage of being a Bollywood star when she crossed over to the West.
Former Miss World, arguably the only mainstream Indian actor to make it big in the American entertainment industry, is now fronting the global spy series Citadel.
People ask me all the time, why haven’t other people done it? Why haven’t other actors from India broken the way you’ve broken? I don’t have the answer to that. All I know is that the one thing that I did, which maybe led to it, was I didn’t carry my baggage, Priyanka said.
I come from India and I’m a big star here, and I have an entourage of 20 people. I don’t do that (there). I will give an audition. I have no qualms in walking into the room and showing people my work. I’m not afraid of the work. I don’t carry my ego or my pride, she added.
The 40-year-old decided to explore Hollywood at the peak of her career in the Hindi film industry around 2011-2012. She began as a singer with the single In My City and went on to feature as the lead in the American TV show Quantico and played the antagonist in the film Baywatch. Most recently, she was seen in The Matrix Resurrections alongside Keanu Reeves.
The actor said it took her eight years of building her credibility with smaller roles and movies to finally reach a position where she is getting opportunities with big names such as The Matrix creators Lana and Lilly Wachowski and Avengers: Infinity War duo Joe and Anthony Russo, who have produced Citatdel.
I’ve been a leading lady for a very long time, whether that’s in Hollywood or in Bollywood. I consider myself a leading lady. It takes time to get there. It took me about eight years working in Hollywood to be able to do leading parts, the actor said.
In her 20-years in the Hindi film industry, she has starred in films such as Kaminey, 7 Khoon Maaf, Barfi, Bajirao Mastani and Dil Dhadakne Do.
Be it Hollywood or Bollywood, the nature of the beast that the entertainment industry is remains the same, start with smaller roles and movies and build your credibility, Priyanka said.
And I had to do the same thing when I joined Bollywood. That’s just how the industry works. And I’m not afraid of hard work. I’m not afraid of perseverance, but when you finally get there and when you watch your work then it’s like I did it again.