Parineeti Chopra on the importance of waiting for a good role, to turn producer or to be an item girl. After all, good things come to those who do!
Sarita A Tanwar (DNA; February 3, 2016)

Parineeti Chopra hasn’t faced a movie camera in over a year. But the feeling that it’s time for her return is very much in the air. Her name has come up in connection with many films from Befikre to Sultan (and even Dhoom:4, which isn’t on the horizon yet). If it will be a YRF film (most probably) or an outside production (why not?), is still not clear. The actress is tight-lipped about it. Here, she talks about the kind of role she is waiting for, why she isn’t averse to doing regional cinema or her condition for donning a bikini in a film. Read on...

What kind of film would excite you at this point?
Something different from what I have done before. I don’t want to do anything I have done before. A love story would be great, an action film would be great, just something out-of-the-box, I think..

Now that you’ve waited long, does the temptation to do something that’s even remotely exciting, exist?
There were many films that come like that you feel ‘Achcha, they are okay for the interim, let me just go for it.’ But no, that’s not what I’ve waited for. I have given it time so that I can do the film that I really want to, so I will only sign a film that I really want to do. I don’t want to do a film to just fill up time, I think that would be wrong.

What about producing a film, if the right one isn’t coming to you?
Maybe, someday, I don’t think I have the expertise right now. Not for a couple of years at least. I think I need a little more experience and I think I need to understand films a little more, the process of making them and maybe then, because a lot of money is involved. I wouldn’t like to put it in the wrong thing.

But nobody puts their own money into films, studios bankroll them.
I know, but you have to invest a certain amount. I mean I would like to attach my name to a film, if I know what I am doing. Right now, I think I am still discovering myself as an actor. I don’t think that I have become a person who can be anything other than an actor right now.

Wasn’t Priyanka supposed to produce a film for you?
No. I don’t know where that rumour came from. I think she must have mentioned that she would love to work with me. Or something like that. And it got blown up.

What about regional films? Everyone is doing South films now. Ash has done them. Even Sonakshi Sinha.
There are many. Yes, everyone has done them, but I have not. It just happened that way. I think my first three-four years went into doing these films. Last year was a break. I would love to do it honestly, if it’s a big director and something big, but till now I have not got anything exciting enough to take up.

How about an item song?
I’d love to do it. I am open (to the idea). I am seriously way open as an actor. Though I don’t think item songs exist anymore, if it’s a full-out dance number, I’d love to do it — whether it’s in my own film, or somebody’s else’s. I think it would be fun to do that.

Would you wear a bikini for a film?
I still don’t have a bikini body. If I have a bikini body, maybe I will.

The actress talks about how a traditional form of martial arts helped her get her body into perfect shape
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 11, 2015)

Parineeti Chopra has steamed up the social media by posting a series of pictures of her in skimpy sportswear, which highlights every muscle and all the not-needed kilos that she has finally lost. "I've worked really hard to change my shapeless body into a shapely one. I've always wanted to look fitter, more toned, wear better clothes but I was over-weight earlier. In fact, before I came down to India, I used to be obese, this really huge girl weighing 82 kgs. My new look should inspire those girls who believe they can never knock off the extra flab, that everybody has it in them to look good, you just have to really push it," insists the actress.

For Parineeti, the prep towards this startling metamorphosis began in February when she signed up for martial arts training. Unlike many of her B-town contemporaries like Jacqueline Fernandez and Alia Bhatt, the gym bores her and she didn't want to go back to the usual cardio and weights. "I don't like working out in a gym so I opted for Kalaripayattu (a traditional form of martial arts which originated in Kerala) which may not make you lose weight as fast but it promises greater flexibility. Earlier, I only wanted to be thin but over the last nine months since I started this strenuous form of yoga, I've begun to feel fit and strong and I like that. Of course, I'm still a work in progress," she laughs.

She mostly works out with her trainer at home and sometimes books a large, empty dance rehearsal hall. She tries to practise at least four to five times a week, on occasion going five days without a break. "It's invigorating and it works for me. But I can't promise that it will work for everyone because all of us have different body types," she reasons.

Parineeti also points out that it's important to watch what you eat but not starve yourself. "Any actor who is fit will tell you that the worst thing you can do is stop eating. You need to fuel the body regularly through the day. I even cheat with fattening treats but then I balance it out. And I never eat anything after 8 pm," she informs.

Buzz is, she's also signing up for a boot camp in Austria. Parineeti shrugs off the speculation saying it wasn't a boot camp but a detox centre to cleanse her body of all toxins. "It was only for five-six days and the doctors there informed me what food items I was intolerant or allergic towards. I don't want to go into details but it's important to cut these out of your daily diet and avoid indigestion and constipation," she says.

You wonder if the reason for Parineeti's self-imposed hiatus was a conscious decision to get into shape before appearing on screen. She is quick to refute this saying she has not signed any new films in a while because she wanted to do a certain kind of cinema and nobody was making those kind of films. "I used the time productively to do up my new apartment, work on myself and get some much needed rest. I had not taken a break in two years. But now, I am ready to get back to work and you can expect some announcements soon," she promises.