Priyanka Chopra: Trial & Error

Armed with long legs and the Miss World crown the Indian beauty, Priyanka Chopra, has made a name for herself in Bollywood and doesn’t plan on stopping there. This pageant queen has left no stone unturned on the road to proving herself and will do what it takes to make her name stick. This army brat traveled the world to many places such as Massachusetts and Iowa to attend school while her father worked as the doctor for the Indian Army but soon returned back to India to attend college at the Jai Hind College in Mumbai. Only to abruptly leave after winning the Miss India pageant in 2000. That same year Chopra would become one of five Indians who won the title of Miss World. “When I became Miss World, I couldn’t believe I had won it. I used to sleep with my crown because I was scared someone would steal it. In a minute the world changed for me,” said Chopra.

After her reign as queen ended, Chopra tried her hand in filmmaking. “I got into the movies by accident. When I got an offer, I thought lets try this too. Everything in my life has happened by trial and error,” Chopra stated. First appearing on the film “Thamizhan” in 2002 playing the role of “Priya”, the love interest of the protagonist, the depth of Chopra’s character seemed to be lacking although the film was praised for its wit. Not to worry, Chopra would try her hand at Bollywood and at first would fail like any other new actress trying to get their foot in the door. The Sunny Deol’s film “The Hero: Love Story of a Spy” would not make a splash on the critics radar. But, the show must go on and the actress would finally make her mark in Bollywood with her vivacious role in “Aitraaz” in 2003 which she received a Filmfare Best Villan Award and became the second woman to do so. “I don’t come from a film background. I haven’t learned anything about films or filmmaking,” stated the actress. “But I have a thirst to know everything about my profession. I want to learn about cinematography, about editing, about music recordings, about post-production. So when people in the know talk, I willingly listen.”

Although Chopra tried her hand at being a willing listener to those who knew the business her next few films at the box office performed poorly. The year of 2004 included the makings of “Plan”, “Kismet”, and “Asambhav” which completely flopped on the big screen. But Chopra, a woman who doesn’t allow poor reviews to deter her from her dream kept at it and in 2005 starred in six more films. Once again the majority of her films including “Blackmail”, “Karam”, “Yakeen”, and “Barsaat” failed to do well at the box office. But, showing perseverance like no one else could, Chopra stayed at it and released two more films “Waqt: The Race Against Time” and “Bluffmaster” which finally hit big on the screen. “Most outsiders look at the film world as something glamorous. But no one sees the hard work that goes into it. I haven’t taken a holiday in the last four years. I’m working 25 hours a day. There’s no time to sleep or to eat,” said the actress. And no time to eat is right. That following year, Chopra would find herself starring in two more films “Krrish” and “Don” which would both finally be a great success.