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Priyanka Chopra: “When I entered Bollywood, everyone was somebody’s uncle or somebody’s daughter”

With her successful TV show ‘Quantico’, Hollywood debut in ‘Baywatch (2017) and second film ‘A Kid Like Jake’ in the pipeline, Priyanka Chopra has most certainly taken America by storm.

Alongside her day job as an actor, Chopra also set up her own production company ‘Purple Pebble Pictures’, and has already produced several regional films. Reported on Pinkvilla, in an interview with Hindustan Times, Chopra talks about her role as a producer. “I don’t think I look at cinema (any) differently because I am a producer. I want to make the kind of films as a producer, which I may not have seen being made otherwise. Regional cinema, for instance, is one such (area of) focus for me and it was very important for me to give new talent (the right) opportunities.”

Coming from a non-film background, Chopra had to work hard to make it in the industry, who explains it wasn’t easy. “When I entered Bollywood, everyone was somebody’s uncle or somebody’s daughter. It’s very difficult to get inside a production office if you are an actor from no [film] background. I know that it happened to me because I started like that.” Further adding, “My production company was set up with that in mind. Almost all directors we have worked — seven I think — are new directors. My route is very different and it’s a personal journey. The films that I make are important to me and I have a point of view that our entertainment has commercial value and it has a story.”

“When I joined films, I was already winner of a beauty pageant and still had it a little easy. I got my first few films but I know that I was thrown out of the films because somebody else was recommended, who was somebody’s daughter. I didn’t know people, ki main dinners pe ja rahi hun and networking kar rahi hun. I know that opportunities came to be because of merit. I know that opportunities were also taken from me because of these reasons. I wanted to have an open house philosophy in my production house,” added the ‘Mary Kom’ (2014) actress.

The ‘Bajirao Mastani’ (2015) star who won over the Bollywood masses before she embarked on her American dream, is set to return in Salman Khan’s ‘Bharat’.