Priyanka Chopra covers the new issue of Complex, and this interview is… something. Full disclosure: this is the first time I’ve ever sat down and read a full-length interview with Priyanka. I’ve always liked her and rooted for her, just at a “yay, Indian ladies are doing it for themselves” level. But she doesn’t want to be seen as an Indian actress, just as actress. Unfortunately, because Mindy Kaling is right about almost everything, women of color still have to answer questions about what it’s like to be a woman of color rather than their art. Priyanka talks to Complex about stereotypes, being victimized by an African-American bully when she was 13, about her love of Tupac, about how she would love to be James Bond and not a Bond Girl. You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:

She’s a child of destiny: “I’m so not a planner. I’m destiny’s favorite child, other than Beyoncé.”

Fame: “I’ve been famous for more than half my life. I don’t know anything else anymore. This is my normal.”

Coming to America at the age of 13: “I was bullied by a freshman named Jeanine. She was black, and supremely racist. Jeanine used to say, ‘Brownie, go back to your country, you smell of curry,’ or ‘Do you smell curry coming?’ You know when you’re a kid, and you’re made to feel bad about where your roots are, or what you look like? You don’t understand it, you just feel bad about who you are… I told my mom, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’”

Her music career, and love of Tupac: “Nineties music has influenced me tremendously. Movies became my profession, but music was always my heart, in a way, my passion…I was supposed to be Mrs. Shakur. Then he died. Yeah, I wore black to school for 30 days.”

She didn’t want to do an Indian-centric American TV show: “That’s exactly what I didn’t want to do. I was very sure I did not want to be the stereotype of what Indian people are seen as, which is Bollywood, and henna. That’s all great! It’s what we are, and I love it. I love saris; I love music; I love henna; I love dancing, but that’s not all we are. I wanted to be seen as just an actor, not because of my ethnicity or where I come from. I think global entertainment needs to become like that. It needs to be about the best person for the job rather than what you look like or where you come from. And I wanted to be one of the first people to take a step in that direction.”

Indian actors playing stereotypes: “There are so many Indian actors who have crossed over, and have done a lot of work in the West, but they’ve always been made to speak like Apu [from The Simpsons]. I want to be able to break the stereotype of what Indian people or people of South Asian descent are supposed to be. Nobody’s supposed to be anything. You can be whoever you want. And I want young people to see that.”

#OscarsSoWhite. “Art should not be bound by barriers or language. The Hindi film industry is a testament to that. We speak only Hindi, but we premiere in Germany and Japan. Our films do phenomenally well there. We transcend the barriers of language and culture. We welcome you in. I think that’s what art should be, and I hope America reaches that place.”

Her “Daddy’s Little Girl” tattoo: “He was always about the fact that I didn’t have to fit in. I didn’t have to be a boy to be successful. In India, boys are looked at to be the workers. Girls are supposed to get married and have babies. My parents gave me the ability to be fearless in whatever I do. My mother is a double MD, and I’m from a family of overachievers, so don’t even ask.”

Her ambition: “Box office is king. We’re in the business of entertainment. If your business makes money, it’s successful, then you’re successful. It’s the simple truth of business.”

Whether she would be a Bond Girl: “I get that all the time. But f–k that—I wanna be Bond.”

[From Complex]

There’s a lengthy discussion about how she got the role in Quantico, and a backstory I knew nothing about – ABC signed Priyanka to a contract and basically gave her all of their scripts and let her choose. She chose Quantico because the character was a blank slate as far as race/ethnicity. She also throws some subtle shade on the insular quality of the Hollywood system, where no one who works in LA even knew that she was a major star in Bollywood and she’s consistently treated like she’s “new” to all of this. As for Priyanka wanting to be James Bond and not a Bond Girl… Angelina Jolie said that! She said that years ago, after she was approached to be in one of the Daniel Craig movies.

Photos courtesy of Complex.