Priyanka Chopra Jonas on representing India in Hollywood

One thing that Priyanka Chopra Jonas realised well into her two-decade-long career is that she’s rather fond of projects where she has to throw a punch or two. So, when last year Russo Brothers’ spy-thriller, Citadel, came along, the former Miss World readily agreed. 

The actor, who has managed to make a name for herself in the West, recently spoke to Filmfare to discuss her latest offerings, flipping the script and Indian representation on an international screen. 

“It’s a good thing Richard and I get along, first of all,” Chopra Jonas says while talking about her Citadel co-star. “That really went a long way. We both care deeply about the show, so we both came into the shoot with a lot of preparation. I’m a prep-oriented girl. I do a lot of homework before I get into a show. So, I’ll ask a million questions. I really want to know about my character.”

She went on to add, “When we were doing these table readings and I realised that he’s also an actor who did his preparation and cared, it clicked. He didn’t come out and just did his lines. That’s when I knew that we could take care of each other. We had each other’s backs. That helped a lot.”

Talking about how diverse Hollywood has been, Chopra Jonas said the stakeholders need to do a lot more. “If you think about leading ladies, how many Indian leading roles have you seen? There are so few we have seen coming into Hollywood. In the last five years, there has been a big demand from actors who say, ‘I don’t want to be a sidekick anymore.’ I know I did,” the Baywatch star commented. “I didn’t want to be one of the checks in the box that says we’ve made our cast diverse—that we have an Indian, an Asian, and so on. I didn’t want to have that. And I know a lot of my colleagues don’t want to do that.”

Chopra Jonas went on to reveal that she had taken many meetings where she’s clearly told producers to not put her in stereotypical parts. “I don’t want to do it,” she remarked. “I’m going to work hard for you because I know my damn job. I’ll come onto the set and do 10% more than what you asked for, or maybe even 20%. I will be better than anyone you’ve cast because I’m not afraid of working hard. It requires selling yourself.”

She further said, “And I hope that maybe by seeing me and other female South Asian talents at the forefront, for example, Simone Ashley in Bridgerton, Mindy Kaling in The Mindy Project and everything else she’s doing, or Deepika Padukone, by seeing a lot more of us, Hollywood will get used to the fact that this is normal. It isn’t special or rare. I’m hoping that’s what the next generation of actresses inherits from my generation of actresses.”

Speaking about representing India on an international screen, Chopra Jonas remarked she’s been doing it ever since her Miss World pageant. “I first represented India when I was 17 years old when I went to Miss World. It was a terrifying feeling at that time, because what? I’m representing a nation of a billion people. That’s crazy!” she asserted. 

“At that time, I didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. But as my career progressed slowly, I started understanding that what I started with had become so much bigger than me. It’s not just, ‘Priyanka Chopra is an actress who does movies,’ it’s become larger. All of that isn’t lost on me. It’s made me cautious about the choices I make. I have made deliberate choices and strategies,” the actor shared. 

Chopra Jonas elaborated, “Like the Pre-Oscars South Asian Excellence Party was a deliberate move to show Hollywood that we have power in numbers. We aren’t just two or three people who you see on posters. We’re filmmakers and writers. We come from one of the largest film industries in the world and we have the capability of standing toe to toe with any international filmmaker. So I’m trying to make sure that I take that responsibility seriously. But at the same time, I’m still a girl who is an actor who is trying to build a career for myself.”

When asked what is the process of embodying wildly different characters in projects such as Citadel and Love Again, the actor said she sought different roles. “If you look at my filmography – I did an Aitraaz, then I did a Fashion and a Barfi! I always look for these characters because I don’t want to play myself. I want to be an actor who is told that ‘Oh my gosh! You have a wild filmography’,” the Quantico actor said. 

“I had the amazing chance to do that in India. I haven’t yet done that in Hollywood and that’s something I’m looking to do in the next decade of my life. It’s looking for a major variety. I’m glad you brought up Love Again because that film is in a completely different direction than Citadel. Meera, my character, is different from Nadia. That was intentional. It gives me the range and ability to make myself nervous and excited and build on these interesting characters,” she continued. 

Chopra Jonas concluded her chat with the advice she would have liked to give her past self. “I would say chill out. It’s not that bad. I used to take the smallest things very seriously. I’m a Cancerian and I’m sensitive so I would go into my shell. I used to get hurt emotionally. It made it hard for me to get up and go to work because I used to feel such a burden after any failure or any lost opportunity,” she said.

“Especially, in my early 20s when I was first starting out in the film industry. I didn’t know anyone. I was a scared girl who came in and worked with some of the biggest stars, who I grew up watching on TV. But I think that the one note I would give that girl is that you’re going to be okay. Smile a little more and enjoy the process.”

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.