A bird that has broken the cage of the past, and now carries only future ambitions on her wings — that is how Priyanka Chopra Jonas views herself. And might we add, the future does look promising. The actor is less than 10 days away from the release of Citadel, Amazon Prime Video’s marquee series fronted by Richard Madden and her, and backed by the Russo Brothers. But it hasn’t been an easy ride from Bareilly to Bollywood and finally, to the big stage of Hollywood.

Chopra might remember every detail of what she has been through in her 20-year movie career, but the superstar has neither the time nor the inclination to ruminate on them. “I don’t live in the past. I like making my peace, and living in peace. The more we live in the past and think about what happened then and who did [what] to me, the [more we] don’t have time to make space for the future,” begins the actor.

Her Bollywood journey recently became a subject of much discussion. On an international podcast last month, Chopra mentioned that she was “cornered” in the Hindi film industry years ago, and her “beef” with people led to loss of opportunities. She alluded that at the time, her Hollywood career was born out of a survival instinct. 

Her determination to lead life on her own terms and chase her dreams have become an integral part of her personality. Mention this to her, and she attributes it to a life lesson that her late father, Ashok Chopra, had imparted to her early on.

“A lot of what I do is deliberate. I don’t carry baggage, because then you can’t fly. I want to be a bird, and explore this incredible life. I am so blessed to have these opportunities, my family, the friends and people I work with, and the ability to do my job well. I am blessed that my brain works in a certain way, and that my parents raised me with values. So, I focus on wanting to fly because when I was young, my dad told me, ‘I will never keep you in a cage. You will fly as high as you want.’ I want to make him proud.”

But here’s the thing about soaring high — success and fame bring with them pressure and perils. As one of Indian cinema’s most successful exports to Hollywood, Chopra is representing not only her own abilities, but also India’s potential to the West. Does carrying the country’s expectations feel heavy on her slender shoulders, at times?

“This has become larger than me. It’s not just about me as an individual now; they see me as something bigger than the woman I am. I do believe there is a lot more scrutiny, maybe because I am one of the very few people in Hollywood who have come from India.”

Only a few weeks ago she was slammed by Indian fans for erroneously calling RRR a Tamil film — one of the many instances of the scrutiny on her. “People try to find a mistake in anything I do. I think people enjoy that a little bit. I was a lot more free-spirited, but now, I am a bit more cautious because I have my family to think about. The higher you go in life, the more people look for a reason for you to fall. But at the same time, I have so much love and support from my family, friends and fans. I prefer to focus on that.”