Parineeti Chopra moved into her own sea-facing apartment yesterday
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 30, 2015)

On Monday afternoon, Parineeti Chopra finally realised a long-cherished dream of having a house of her own. She moved into a sea-facing, four-BHK apartment in Khar. Her two younger brothers, Saraj and Shivang, were around to lend a helping hand. Even mom Reena has flown down from Ambala.

"Mom is landing in 15 minutes and is going to help me set up my home. But at the moment she's clueless, she doesn't even know the colour of the curtains," chuckles the actress, who has been happily loading all her possessions into tempos and trucks since early morning. "It'll be at least four-five days before we are finished with all the unpacking. But it's going to be fun."

It has taken the independent, working girl months to find her dream house. For two hours every morning she's been inspecting property with her estate agent, at least four-five places everyday. "But I didn't get the tingle in my stomach till I stepped into this one around six months ago and immediately, instinctively, I knew this was my home," she reminisces.

She has grown up in a huge bungalow in Ambala set on four acres of land. It's surrounded by trees, flowers, fruits and vegetable gardens. "We often joke that we are living in the middle of a forest. My parents have still to get used to coming up an elevator and stepping into a four bedroom apartment which probably is the size of one of their bedrooms at home. But I have something that they can't boast of—A view of the sea," she points out.

A self-confessed water babe, Parineeti was sure she wanted a sea-facing apartment in Mumbai even though this limited her choices. "Not many of them are up for sale, but I was not going to compromise on that," she asserts.

The doting didi is also delighted that her brothers, one of whom is in Pune, will get a bedroom of their own when they are visiting Mumbai. "And now we can make as much noise as we want because there will be no landlord coming along to shush us up. We are the landlords now," she laughs.

So when's the big, fat housewarming party? That query stops the actress in her tracks, momentarily. She admits that she's not much of a party person but since everyone is expecting one, she might host a quiet dinner for a few close friends once she had settled in.

Despite her film and ad commitments, Parineeti has been working closely on the decor and refurbishments. She will put the finishing touches while she is living there. Today, the bigger thrill for her is that she can now unpack all the little knickknacks she's picked up on travels abroad.

"There are so many clocks waiting to make an appearance in my home. All my life I've been preparing for this day and finally its here," she beams, adding that her biggest treasures are her books and DVDs.

"There must be 100s of them in those cartons. I have set aside a room with wall-to-wall shelves just for them. That'll be my favourite room, a private den-cum-library."

Is there a home gym? The fitness conscious actress admits that she doesn't have one because there's there one just a few floors down. "The building comes with several amenities, including a pool. Now you know why it's irresistible!" she exclaims.

Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 3, 2014)

Last we heard, Parineeti Chopra was looking for a new house. Ask her if she has found her dream home yet and she giggles, "No, I blew up the money I'd saved on a Jaguar. So now I have my dream car but will have to wait for my dream house." The actress points out that growing up in Ambala, she is used to spacious bungalows and her current residence in the city does not match up. "Mumbai apartments are small and cramped. I am living on rent till I can find something better," she says.

So what keeps her rooted to Mumbai? Parineeti confesses it’s the acting bug that has bit her. It’s what she's grown to love even though her dad wanted her to be a doctor. "For him it was either doctor or an engineer, there were no other career options" laughs the actress, admitting that when she told her father that she wanted to study business management he told her that only those who didn’t want to study got into business.

However, he eventually gave in and sent her to London. "After I returned, I told him I wanted to act and he was like yeh kahan se aa gaya. But he didn't stop me," she recalls.

Today he is proud of his little Pari but finds it difficult to put his joy into words. The actress admits that communication has always been a problem with her father and even though they speak everyday their telephone conversations last no more than 30 seconds. "While mom and I can chat for hours, but with dad if I ever speak for more than 30 seconds I wonder if anything is wrong," she says.

Meanwhile, Parineeti's once generous curves have shrunk. Has she finally realised that a heroine's waist size is as important as her talent for histrionics, if not more? "It's not!" she retorts. "Today, the audience is reacting to the heroine’s role as well. No one has a favourite actress anymore, which is great because it gives actresses like me an opportunity to experiment with the roles I want to do and not get stuck with a stereotyped image. Today, viewers go for films they want to see and are ready to give everyone a chance. Waist size should never be the criterion."

So what is? Kisses? After Emraan Hashmi, she seems to have become B-town's new serial kisser. After the steaming lip-locks in Ishaqzaade and Shuddh Desi Romance, a kiss seems to have become an integral part of her movies. Even her upcoming rom-com Hasee To Phasee is being promoted with a kiss. Parineeti seems uncomfortable with the ‘honour’. She says, “I've just kissed in three odd movies! You can give me the tag after I do it in 20 films. For now just wait and watch."
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Upala KBR (DNA; February 3, 2014)

It’s not just men who drool over machines. Ladies do it too, and have super cars on their wish list.
Just a month after Priyanka Chopra bought a swanking Rolls Royce, cousin Parineeti followed suit by gifting herself a Jaguar — for which she had been saving up for some time now.

Says a source close to her, “Parineeti is majorly into cars and had been planning to buy one for years. Last year, she gifted her parents a medium sized car and last week, she surprised everyone on the sets of Daawat-E-Ishq when she drove in a custom-made Jaguar XJL.” Ever since she entered the film industry, Parineeti has been saving to buy the car as it’s her dream machine.

The source adds, “After she bought the car, Parineeti sent a message to her team saying, ‘Bought a Jaguar XJL 2 days ago! Loving it. Just sharing with you since you all have been a reason, I could buy it! Thank you.’ Parineeti feels that whatever she is today is because of her team and she wanted to thank them for it.” No doubt, her team loved the gesture.