Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; October 14, 2018)

It seldom happens that an actress, the sister of a top leading lady in Bollywood, decides to debut in a film in which she doesn’t play the lead. In six years, Parineeti Chopra has chosen roles that have largely played on her strengths as an artiste. With a glamorous new avatar and fresh choice of films, she is all set to return with a bigger bang. She is no hurry to reach the top spot. Instead, the plan is to choose roles that give her an opportunity to display her acting chops. In an interview with BT, she talks about the on-going #MeToo campaign in Bollywood, her plans ahead and what it is like to reunite with Arjun Kapoor for Vipul Shah’s Namaste England. Excerpts:

After your dramatic weight loss and the recent glam photo shoot, everyone is talking about your new avatar. What’s the reason behind this reinvention?
One bad photo (laughs!). I saw the photo and decided that I don’t want to look like that anymore. Coincidentally, I bought a house around the same time and decided to dedicate six months to that and to my body. I had just worked in six films and I was feeling exhausted. I was overworked and I felt that I didn’t give enough time to my body. As actors, we exhaust ourselves emotionally and physically, which no one sees. People just see the glamour. During the break, I changed my lifestyle and today, I live every moment, following the ‘Kal ho na ho’ mantra. I’m not always up and about, I have low moments too, but I am aware of how I want to live.

Do you view your career as a pre and post phase, after the weight loss?
In this industry, it’s sad that a superficial thing like weight loss can actually define your career, but if that is the case, so be it. I wanted a break of six months. I knew I needed to do something new, including a fitness regimen and my film choices, too. I came back with Meri Pyaari Bindu (2017), Golmaal Again (2017) and now, I have films like Kesari, Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar and Jabariya Jodi apart from Namaste England. The aim was always to have a good mix. Yes, that has been magnified by the talk around my fitness levels, because I have struggled with it all my life and I think that’s great. I wanted to inspire all those girls who used to say, ‘Hey! We are just like you’ when I didn’t want them to be like me. Now, I want them to be like the new me.

Do you have reservations about being a part of films with ensemble casts and multiple leading ladies?
I would love to be a part of a project like Ocean’s 8, if such a film is ever made in India. For me, the focus is always on what I am doing in a film. I started my career like that. I was one-fifth of Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011), where Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh had just come out of Band Baaja Baaraat (2010). I made a first impression in a film with an ensemble cast. Over the years, my screen characters have become meatier, but they were not the most glamorous-looking women. I don’t think I would have lasted six years in the industry if I didn’t make some bold choices. I don’t think Golmaal Again (2017) could have been my debut film. The timing of the project also makes a difference. I haven’t put any such rule in place, because the thought of not working in films with an ensemble cast has never crossed my mind. It would be great to work in a film with lots of women. Good films and good performances will help you go further in your career. You can’t get too far by just choosing leading lady roles.

Namaste England will see you reuniting with Arjun Kapoor after seven years. He was your co-star in your first film as a leading lady. Does it feel any different to work with him this time around?
Arjun and I were nothing when we started working together. Our lives have been through a lot of changes, but we’re still the same people. Working together was literally like taking off from where we left. What has changed is that today, we can’t shoot on a crowded street without being mobbed. The good thing is that Arjun hasn’t changed his attitude towards me though. But, we are more aware, wiser and we have grown up. In a spell of seven months, we shot two diametrically different films — one where we hate each other and another, where we have to be romantic. Dibakar Banerjee’s Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar had so many difficult scenes and was physically demanding, too. In Namaste England, we had to be romantically in sync. We could pull off both because we’re comfortable with each other.

Your cousin, Priyanka Chopra and you stepped into the industry as outsiders. With so many conversations happening around nepotism, what’s your view on the subject?
Nepotism exists, but not in a bad way. If someone’s child wants to pursue their profession, any parent will ask their associates for help. Why is that wrong? So, star kids will get that first meeting and audition easier than someone who is not from the industry, but everyone’s journey is the same. Arjun Kapoor is a star kid, but if he keeps giving flops, no one will make a film with him, right? He’s an actor and a star today because he is bankable. Yes, his first audition may have been easier than mine, but our journeys are the same. People don’t get that. Outsiders like Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif came out of nowhere and have made a mark. Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Kareena Kapoor Khan have done well, too. They are all doing well because their films are doing well. Sadly, Indians don’t give people enough time or opportunities to explain their side of the story.

Your take on Tanushree Dutta’s case at the Namaste England song launch stunned quite a few people. The #MeToo movement has found wind in India too, but you had a different opinion…
I was asked at the event if this is the start of the #MeToo campaign in India. I said I hope it’s not because if this is the start, then more stories will tumble out and we’ll have to witness more women who have been hurt; actors, directors and choreographers who have been wronged in a beautiful industry like ours. Perhaps, I’m simply trying to avoid discomfort and conflict, but I know if there are women who have been hurt, they should speak up. There is nothing worse than being assaulted and harassed. I am a staunch feminist because I come from a family where girls and boys have always been treated equally. Tanushree’s case is unique because she is the first person who has spoke up at a time when the world is sensitive to this topic. Sadly, she must have said something in 2008 also, and maybe it fell on deaf ears... we don’t know. I think if a #MeToo campaign had started a decade ago, she would have been heard right then. I wasn’t on set and so I don’t know who is right. It’s hard to think that she would make this up; why would she? If she has been hurt by someone, action must be taken, but if she is lying, she should be equally taken to task because what she is alleging is not a small thing. It’s a life altering situation. Is India quick to judge? Yes. The thing is people in India judge quickly and also forget things just as fast. However, here is a girl who is speaking up, so let’s listen and investigate; everyone will rally for her if she is right.

Do you think being a star’s sister and being represented by a top studio ensured that you were protected from the predators in the industry?
I started my career under the leadership of Yash and Aditya Chopra. No one would dare to do anything immoral to anyone working with them. At the start of my career, my dad was skeptical and had asked me if I need my mother to be with me all the time. I told him that times have changed. The working environment in the film industry is young and cool now, there are more women on a film set than men.