Rishabh Deb (BOMBAY TIMES; August 7, 2019)

Parineeti Chopra is looking forward to her next, Jabariya Jodi, with Sidharth Malhotra. The film, which is gearing up to release this week, revolves around Parineeti’s character Babli and Sidharth’s character Abhay, who abducts grooms and gets them married at gunpoint. The movie is spun around the practice of pakadwa shaadi, which is prevalent in parts of Northern India, especially pockets of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

While talking about her character in the film, Parineeti told us, “I don’t want to keep saying that the reactions to the trailer and the music have been surprisingly good, because it’s not like I doubted the work we’ve done on this film. It’s relieving that the feedback so far has been great. In two lines, Sidharth and I play equals, who come from different worlds. What interested me about the film was the fact that in a pakadwa shaadi, it’s the groom who is kidnapped and forced into doing things. Usually, in most parts of our country, it’s the women who are forced to pay dowry, which is as unfair as it is to force a man to marry a woman at gunpoint. My love story with Abhay unfolds when I decide to have him abducted. We’ve used humour and romance to say that neither of these practices are good for a society to progress.”

On the work front, Parineeti has recently started work on the remake of the Hollywood film, The Girl On The Train. While she admits that she has a hunger to do Hollywood and regional films like her cousin, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the actress says she is happy with the kind of work she is getting in India. “I would love to go Priyanka’s way, but right now, I am getting amazing work in India and I am doing diverse roles. Like the one in Jabariya Jodi — I’m sure the audience will smile after watching Sid and me,” she says. On the subject of roles, Parineeti says she would love to act in a Marathi film one day. “I was talking to Sidharth about the Marathi film industry and how amazing it is. I think the industry really stands for quality. At least four times a year films release that talk about something new. They are real game-changers. We tend to talk of Bollywood and Bengali cinema a lot, but I think Marathi films are awesome. Some of the most prolific actors in the country are Marathi actors. Sachin sir (Sachin Khedekar) is one of my favourites. I would love to do a Marathi film one day. I don’t speak the language at all, but I would love to do it because of the kind of subjects being explored in the industry.”

Opening up about her brother-in-law Nick, Parineeti says, “Nick is unbelievably family-oriented. He is so inclusive and wants his maternal, paternal family, in-laws and everybody to be around him always. He cares about everyone and is so positive as a person. He also makes me and my entire family better. Nick has taught me to enjoy the simpler things in life. He is so young, but at the same time so mature. He is a great husband to Priyanka and brother-in-law to me.”