This birthday, National Award-winning actress and international recording artiste Priyanka Chopra has much reason to celebrate. She succeeded in making a mark on the global music front and has also been lauded after the first poster of Mary Kom packed a punch online.

Her chiselled, athletic look in the film and also her ability to take on a role that very few would have dared to, have got her praise from many quarters.

Arguably a game changer - PeeCee has all kinds of movies to her credit. She has effortlessly mixed performance-oriented films like Fashion and Barfi with typical Bollywood masala fare -Agneepath, Krrish 3 and Gunday, to name a few.

She has also made the ageold demarcation between a hero and heroine redundant and one can easily describe her as a SHERO.

Pushing boundaries, be it representing all that is Indian on the global front, or her humanitarian efforts, this beauty pageant winner and performing artiste gets under the skin of her characters, transforming everything from her look to her body language, much like she has for her career's most ambitious role in and as Mary Kom. So, on her birthday, we decided to ask Priyanka what makes her take all these risks. And this is what she said: "YOLO: You Only Live Once, so make the most of it. What's the worst that can happen? Ask yourself that every time you want to try something new. Most often, the answer will give you the courage to take the leap. I have a second voice in my head - the creative side of me that just won't be pushed aside. I hate the mundane. A wannabe aeronautical engineer from Bareilly is now a Bollywood actress and an international pop star. Stranger things have happened... just open your mind, work hard and make it happen. The time is always NOW! It's not about five minutes or two hours later or tomorrow or next week. If you're going to do something different, why wait! I hate failure, but I've learnt how to stand up after a fall - nobody is perfect and not everything you do will be a success. You have to learn how to keep going, maintain the enthusiasm and continue to chase your dream. More often than not, it works in your favour. And if it doesn't, all you need to do is stand up again, take a breath and start all over again. And don't forget to pray"