I’m always amazed at how many commenters have crazy gossip about Priyanka Chopra. While I’m half-Indian, I really don’t follow Bollywood gossip nor do I pay much attention to gossip about Bollywood stars. But as Priyanka crosses over to American markets and American stardom, there are some in-the-know people saying that she’s not really what she is. Like, she’s branding herself with an entirely new persona now that she’s breaking into the American market. It could be! And if she is adopting a new persona, I have to admit, she’s chosen wisely, because I like nearly every interview I’ve read with her. She comes across as very no-nonsense, smart and goal-oriented. Priyanka covers the new issue of Flare (the September issue) and this is just another great piece. Some highlights:
She liked Jennifer Aniston’s HuffPo essay: “I really admire her and the fact that she called it out. We’ve been told for eons that a woman should be a certain way, dress a certain way, behave a certain way. That’s what the fight of feminism is for: we’re asking for the opportunity to make our own choices without being judged—a freedom that men have enjoyed for centuries.”
Lessons from her parents: “My parents raised me to be a thinking girl. Our dinner table discussions were always, ‘What are the relevant issues right now?’”
She wants high-impact film roles: “I always look for parts that make an impact. It’s a great time to be a female actor right now, especially if you stand your ground. I won’t settle.”
Fame in America: “Mainstream America is getting to know me through Quantico, and now they’re discovering my Indian films. It’s such a cool cultural exchange for me, because I get people writing to me, saying, ‘We watched our first Indian movie on Netflix.’ I feel amazing that I’ve been able to introduce a new audience to those films—and an Indian audience to an American show.”
Working in Hollywood as a woman of color: “Storytelling cannot be based on what someone looks like. Everyone has stories: you have a story; I have a story. They just need to be written. And casting needs to happen based on the best person for the job, not the Indian girl or the black girl. The girl next door is no longer blonde-haired and blue-eyed, nor is she brown-haired and brown-eyed. She’s not one person. And our entertainment needs to be a representation of that.”
Her ten-year plan is to have her own private plane: “I travel cross-continent so often. All my shopping happens at duty-free and Hudson News.”
While I agree with Chopra’s central point that feminism is the fight to have the same kind of choices as men, I disagree with the idea that Jennifer Aniston is somehow the face of that movement, or that Aniston’s HuffPo essay did much of anything (besides remind us that Aniston is a hypocrite who uses sarcasm-quotes around “First Amendment”). I love what Priyanka says about how the Girl Next Door, that ephemeral archetype of womanhood, needs to be broadened. We need more diverse storytellers and stories.
Photos courtesy of Flare.
I find that I for one was never a fan of any of the women called “t=The Girl next door”..most of them were never that and fake and phony. NOT to mention Boring and generic. I rather support those that lived outside that box.. Much more interesting in the long run; on and off the screen
Have to agree. She’s striking and so much more interesting than the perfect blonde girl.
Girl next door” just means boring, unthreatening but generically pretty. Literally, the girl who you wouldnt be surprised lived next door but would consider above average pretty . So for example, Reese Witherspoon would be a girl next door and Sharon Stone would not, even though they are both blondes. I think Priyanka is too hot to be a girl next door.
Personally I think Reese Witherspoon has a chippy patrician edge that takes her out of Girl Next Door territory. She may be selling GND (Big smiles! Cute gingham! Wedge sandals! All from Draper James!) but I’m not really buying it.
Absolutely a beautiful woman. I mean, breathtaking, really. But she is a horrible actress. Her show Quantico is barely tolerable. I don’t know if it’s the show’s writing itself, PC’s acting, or a mixture of both. Ugh.
I agree it’s dreadful, and think it is a mix of the writing and casting. The cast would be great in a Friends reboot, but does anyone find them remotely plausible as FBI agents?
My thoughts exactly, tracking!
Agree – beautiful woman, dreadful actress. Obsessed wit her hair.
I was disappointed by her acting in Quantico too. Maybe she’s better in Hindi movies.
Right? Glad she’s not going to “settle” for roles.
I was intrigued by the description of the show, but the trailer made it look stupid and unbelievable to a comical level so I didn’t even bother watching it. Sounds like I made the right call, which is unfortunate because I really wanted to get behind it.
It reminds me of a show the CBC developed a few years ago called Arctic Air – it was a drama about pilots in Canada’s Arctic (an area that is hugely under-served by the entertainment industry), and not only was the main character Aboriginal, they were actually played by an Aboriginal actor (Adam Beach). I was really excited to get into it but… it was really bad. The writing was god-awful, characters so one-dimensional and the actual storylines were so cliched and immature. The show was cancelled after two seasons I think.
My point is: you can have an interesting premise and a diverse cast, both of which are great, but you won’t get far if the actual characters episodes aren’t good.
I guess it feels like the producers think that they can throw people of colour into a cast and not invest much in anything beyond that, then when no one watches they throw their hands up and say “See?!? We’d love to have these shows but no one watches them!” Then they excuse themselves from trying again for a generation, rinse and repeat.
My girl next door is small, curly short black hair, 45 years old and lesbian.
^^^ Love!
Can someone spill the tea on those “changed persona” comments?
Indian here. Even i want to know what this changed persona is? I must admit I don’t watch/pay attention to Bollywood gossip but of what little I do know, I have always known her to be this no nonsense person. Its what I like the most about her, actually. Of course, in her rise to stardom in India she has been pitted against other actresses, which is bound to happen (especially with women), has had her ups and downs; but she has handled that gracefully. I don’t really see what tea is there to spill, but I’m all ears…
For starters, presenting herself as someone who never dates and only does ‘relationships’ is certainly at odds with her history of problematic affairs with her married co-stars. She doesn’t seem to mind being the other woman in morally grey area relationships and that doesn’t exactly strike one as ‘no-nonsense’.
Adding to EVIL OWL… (Indian here) also her ‘stance’ on being a feminist…she had an astonishing number of cosmetic surgeries to look like what she does now…and her NEW persona obviously does not share that in interviews to the western magazines. The OLDer Priyanka endorsed fairness creams.
The New Priyanaka also has a new accent which she never did before.
Also her reddit AMA which was an epic failure is a great insight to know more about her!
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/priyanka-chopras-ama-session-backfires-on-her/
Seconded!
she is a sort of maneater. she will be your friend and then steal your man. Her friendship with men (not necessasarily sexual) is how she climbs ladder of success.
Maybe she is what she is now and never was what she was then.
She’s gorgeous, and she’s right: stop with the Caucasian girl next door already. In 2016?? But come on, Jennifer Aniston is a hypocrite and certainly not a feminist.
I really want to love her, but then I’m reminded of those terrible skin whitening commercials she did
Eh I’ve never really like the whole “girl next door” label. Its too homogenous. I am attracted to the things that make people different.
She’s crap as an actress. She’s as crap as she’s beautiful and ambitious.
Done with her after she told some dumb ‘Black people are the real racists’ story that was then proven to be a lie. Between that and the married co-stars, nope.
I used to read a lot of Indian gossip sites a few years ago. She supposedly had an affair with Shah Ruck Khan, there were photos of them leaving somewhere very late. Apparently his wife Gauri and other Bollywood wife’s made her persona non grata, she was completely froze out of industry parties and other events. I think some time after this she embark on her international singing career, then Hollywood. If all this is true, then I think she came to America to have more opportunities and a fresh start.
I don’t believe she is totally fame hungry as I remember Gerard Butler was obsessed with her for a long time after meeting her in Dubai and he made no secret of it either. At this time Gerard was at his hottest and peak fame wise, so she would have gotten a lot of attention from that relationship if she wanted it.
I’m completely open to correction on any of my gossip, it’s just my recollection from a few years ago.
Priyanka has always been like this. An open minded and really cool girl. I’m an Indian and I have grown seeing her from the time she was crowned Miss India.
She’s a pretty chilled out person and cool to hang out with. She is not bitchy. She has always been ambitious and that’s not wrong. She’s a fantastic girl.
People (probably most of Indian girls) who say she has changed her personality for Hollywood, they are lying and are obviously jealous of her success.
You watch her old interviews, you’ll know.
I like that she has a plan to buy her own plane as opposed to getting an ATM to buy it for her.
Atta girl!!
As brunette girls with dark skin, dark eyes, and a larger nose wish this trend had began in the nineties. I even got teased for my large lips and now people are paying for them. You basically had to be blond and blue eyed in my HS & yes even college to be considered really attractive. Glad the new generation is a bit more accepting of many looks.
Sure, if the girl next door is a conniving ladder-climber who sleeps with powerful, married men to win projects. She *is* a horrible actress, but gets the pick of the litter compared to other, much more talented women actors because she’s very savvy if amoral. She may make the right noises about feminism, but she’s never been one, whether it’s her home-wrecking ways or endorsement of dodgy ‘fairness creams’ for a buck.
I’m not sure her ‘homewrecking ways have a lot to do with her being a feminist. I mean, would You say That Angelina jolie is not feminist because of brad Pitt?
The other thing with the whitening cream is revolting, i agree with you