Madhureeta Mukherjee (BOMBAY TIMES; October 8, 2019)

Yes, she’s an international actor, she hobnobs with crème de la crème in the West, sashays on the red carpets of Hollywood with the glitterati and all that jazz, but deep down, she’s every bit the cool desi girl. Someone who dared to dream big, while unnerving a few, and inspiring most. And behind all that success and glory is years of sweat and toil. Priyanka Chopra Jonas — always high on confidence, spunk and unbeatable willpower — tells us, “I have never been a sharer of my life. I share a lot of trivial things, but the other side of it, I have never spoken about it”. In a conversation with BT, the actress talks about how her upcoming film, The Sky Is Pink, helped her heal, the lessons she learnt from her dad, living in two homes (across continents) and her dream life with hubby, Nick Jonas. Read on...

You are constantly shuttling back and forth between the US and India. While Mumbai will always be your home ground, does America also feel like home now?
Well, my apartment in New York feels like home, as I have been living there for over two-and-a-half years. I love going back there. Now, Nick and I are looking for a place in Los Angeles, and that will be the first home that we will build together, so I am really excited about it.

What is the first thing you do as soon as you land in Mumbai?
There are two flights that I usually take. One, where I land at around 3 am, and the other, at 1 pm. When I take the latter, the first thing I do is have an elaborate lunch at home. My mom gives instructions to the staff at home to start readying the food as soon as I head out of the airport. I miss my comfort food and ghar ka khana in the US. We get Indian food almost everywhere in America, and even my chef in New York knows how to make some Indian dishes, but my home food in Mumbai tastes different. Yahan ke ghee mein hi farak hai.

Coming from Bareilly to Mumbai and winning the Miss India and Miss World titles, then following your Bollywood dreams, stardom, fame, et al. Then, gradually making a transition to the West with American shows and Hollywood movies, and of course, marrying a pop star. Your life seems to be what dreams are made of, at least from the outside...
I can’t begin telling you what all it took to get there. As a person, I have never been a sharer of my life. I share a lot of trivial things, as I like doing that, but the other side of it, which is all about my trials, tribulations and strife, and things that emotionally hurt or affect me… I have never spoken about it. I don’t want to play victim, I don’t need sympathy and I don’t want people to say, ‘Hai, kitni mushkil life thi, dekho achha hua ki acchi cheezein mil gayi usko’. You don’t need that. Everyone’s life is tough, and everyone has their own struggle. I am really glad that my life looks like a fairy tale, as that was the intention (smiles). I am really blessed, and even though the journey has been arduous, and tough at every step, the end game has always been good and positive. I feel that someone is looking out for me.

After your 2016 release Jai Gangaajal, this week, we will be seeing you in Shonali Bose’s The Sky Is Pink. We believe that your journey with her started long ago, even before you met Nick, and the two of you developed a great bond...
Shonali came to my New York home early last year and finalised the film. At that point, Nick was nowhere in the scene. Cut to June, we start dating and by August, we were engaged, and that is when we began filming. By then, Shonali knew that we would be getting married at some point during the year. It (marriage) was right in the middle of the schedule of a massively difficult movie. In retrospect, it was quite ironic; it was such a joyous moment in my life, and here we were, shooting this film where we are talking about difficult things like death.

Shonali said that nothing distracts you from what you are doing. So, you could be shooting a tough scene, and cut to a few hours later, you could be pouring over wedding details….
This will be a slightly long-winded answer… when I first started acting in movies back in 2003, I didn’t know what acting was all about. I thought that it was a glamorous profession where you wear lovely clothes, dance and look beautiful. In the course of the next few years, I realised that it was such an amazing craft and what I bring to it, is what it will be. Whatever happens between ‘action’ and ‘cut’ is my job and that space is my playing field. The moment I realised that, I had to figure out how to do it. I also realised that if I stay in my character, I get bored. It works for other actors and I tried that, too, but it does not work for me. I prep before I come on set, I do workshops and I know my lines pat. But on set, I do chichorapan, laugh and enjoy myself. When the camera and lights turn on, I switch to my character. It is also because I know my character really well before I start the movie, so much that my character becomes my best friend. If you ask me how my character will react in a particular situation, I can exactly tell you that. I prefer it this way, as it keeps my performance spontaneous and alive.

Is there any character that was hard to come out of after the shoot ended?
This one (The Sky Is Pink). Not the role, really, but it’s about the way you get attached to a film. This movie has impacted me a lot in a positive way. It helped me deal with emotions, which I hadn’t dealt with before. I had a lot of dark emotions regarding my father’s death and for a long time I didn’t know how to process it. I always looked up to my dad and he was my friend. We used to call each other twins as we were the same people. I didn’t process that loss after he passed away, I was angry, and I took it out on myself. I was self-destructive in a way and I emotionally went through all that. But through the course of this movie, that changed. The whole thought behind the story is, why not celebrate the life that a person lived, instead of living through the sorrow attached to him or her not being there. There was such a lightness to that thought, that I think I healed with this film. I had to open up my heart and go to deep places for this movie. It is special, as it is inspired by real-life people who thrive in extraordinary circumstances.

In the past, you have spoken a lot about confidence being that one key element, which has helped you get this far. Does all that willpower and confidence stem from the fact that you didn’t have it easy, and you had to have that fighting spirit to sail through and survive — in two different entertainment industries across the globe?
I taught myself to be confident, you are not born with it. It is an exercise that we all can teach ourselves. I learnt it when I went to boarding school in Class III. I was this brat, as I was my parents’ only child for a while, and then my brother came along, and I got brattier as he was getting all the attention. I was sent to boarding school and the environment was so different there. My dad sat me down and told me that the beauty of going to a new place is that you can be whoever you choose to be and no one else will know the difference. Every time I entered a new environment, I told myself… who do I want to be now, I can be that person. That’s why I say that confidence is important; that is the easiest thing you can teach yourself and the best thing you can learn.

Would you say that you are fiercely ambitious? And did you ever have people around tell you, ‘Oh, she is too ambitious’?
Yes, I am fiercely ambitious, though I think that the word ambition has a really bad connotation, when it comes to women. When it comes to men, it is considered sexy and hot, and people say, ‘Wow, he’s so ambitious’. But while referring to ambitious women, they will say, ‘Badi ambitious hai!’ You get the difference? I chose to defy that. I have always chosen to defy that. I am fiercely ambitious, and I am proudly ambitious. I will always be! I feel girls have been denied opportunities for such a long time that if you allow ambition to become a bad word, women will not get or seek opportunities. Today, we are in an environment where we are surrounded by some amazing men who stand by us and want us to thrive. They are listening to us. Yes, all of them out there are not like that, but I choose to focus on the positive. So, at this stage, you can’t let social norms or stereotypes dictate your behaviour, because then, we will never evolve.

You are part of two massive movie industries, and you have also featured on Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women List (in 2017 and 2018). What are your thoughts on the pay parity issue, which has been a raging discussion in the West, too? In India, do you see a significant change?
Look at how amazing it is that the conversation has started, and it is so loud. Pehle koi sochta bhi nahi tha. I was told by a filmmaker many years ago that if I don’t settle for the price I was being paid, which was about two per cent of my male co-actor’s remuneration, I would be replaced by another actress. I was also relatively established by that time. It affected me and at that point, I told myself that I will be irreplaceable, and that there will be a day when you will only want a Priyanka Chopra in your film. I strove to work towards that. The pay parity debate reflects how women have been devalued in society in every aspect. A woman has to work twice as hard to make the same amount of money as a man, in most cases. This conversation must turn into action, and it will take people to get woke and the industry to get woke. It is happening slowly. Pay parity is still looked upon as… zaroorat kya hai? Today, in our industry, we have so many female actors and filmmakers whose films open well, and the audience go to watch them because they are good. With this change, even the remuneration for women needs to change. We have also worked just as hard. I believe that we are going in the right direction, but yes, a lot of work still needs to be done.

On another note, it will be a year of being married. So, is Nick catching up on Bollywood movies? Which are his PeeCee favourites?
Hmnn…not really. He watched Mary Kom by himself one day. I was traveling and he called me and said, ‘Babe, I am missing you, so I am watching your movie’. I thought that was really sweet. Right now, we are both discovering each other’s professional lives. Before I met him, I didn’t know much about the Jonas brothers and their music. He is discovering my work, too. We share things like…. this is my first video, this is the movie I am embarrassed about and stuff like that.

We believe you have said that having a baby is your priority right now...
Well, it is not like it is priority; what I said has been misconstrued, as usual. I said that I hope we are blessed with it, whenever it happens. Yes, it is something I would want for us as the next step… like making a family and building a home together.