Priyanka Chopra Jonas is an icon for all who dared to dream and for those who dared not; for all who tried and failed, and particularly for those who never tried for fear of failure. She has done it all. She dreamt, she attempted; she feared, she overcame; she was rejected and then unexpectedly accepted. Was it destiny or carefully laid out plans, sheer grit, or her refusal to accept failure — or is there a formula to her amazing success story? In this chat with us at the Times Lit Fest, Priyanka shares it all:

I think I finally found my roots. I always had a groove! But we are all works in progress. We change every day, we evolve. There's a lot I want to do and have in my life going forward. I’ve left a lot of unfinished things in my life and moved on, when I felt they were not going as I wanted - and it’s okay to do that. But today, I can give my younger self a hug and say, it’s okay for all those times when you were sad and cried… I’ve done this. And now it’s time to find solace in where I am, a sense of contentment, and confidence in my craft. I’m very confident in what I bring to the table now, unlike what I was, of course, when I was starting out.

I’ve been a very private person in my life. Being home for six months during COVID helped me dig deep. So, once I decided to write my memoir, I had to plan whether I was just going to skim the surface as I have done for the last 20 years of being in entertainment or go deeper. I chose to dig deep. I just wanted people to know me. I wanted to give people an insight into what my truth for me is.

Sometimes the best way to prove that you can do something is by doing it. By fighting a fight that has existed for ever, you may neglect the opportunity of trying another route. I always have multiple plans. I don’t get defined by one failure.

It is like if I am trekking and see a large boulder in front of me. Instead of picking at it I’ll try to go around it. It is the same with fences and ceilings that have been created for women, for people, in every field. You have to work around these.

It looks like I’m the person who’s choosing everything in my life, but it’s not true. I’m just like anybody else. I have spent a lot of time invested in things which were just not working, and I just stayed and stayed, but at some point, you have to choose yourself. Like, when I take my music, for example, I stayed to try it, but I had to recognise when it was not living up to my standards. I knew that it was futile to spend more time there and that’s important to understand.

I really believe love makes the world go round. For me, love over anything! And the only way to love is deeply and fully and to give yourself completely. The one thing that my marriage has definitely taught me — something I earlier didn’t even feel the need to have, but which I can’t live without now — is having my partner give complete credence and credit to the job that I do, to my work. It’s so amazing when I see how Nick accommodates his life for my achievements or my career and my choices.

He has impacted me in a big way. I’ve become a lot calmer in life. I would bite people’s heads off. My husband is a calm person, and he finds solutions. He's a diplomat, whereas I’m just like a mirchi! If I go off, I go off. I have learnt a lot from Nick. He’s an amazingly talented, creative person and we bounce a lot of our work off each other and then we develop things together. So, having a creative partnership with your partner is amazing.

We both didn’t know very much about each other’s careers, so after we got married, we did sort of show and tell – he showed me his earlier music work, and I showed him a few of my movies, but Nick loves Dil Dhadakne Do. He has watched it multiple times!

From being Miss World to a Bollywood actor, singer, film producer and Hollywood star, Priyanka Chopra Jonas has worn many hats over the last two decades. So, it’s no surprise that she thinks that “evolution and reinvention is the name of the game.” “We can’t be the same people we were five or ten years ago. One has to keep changing because if you don’t evolve, you’ll be left behind,” she said at the Times LitFest.

While discussing her memoir Unfinished with Vinita Dawra Nangia, she described the process of writing the book as both exhilarating and exhausting. “I’ve been a private person all my life and I could have skimmed the surface but because I was home during Covid, it helped me dig deep.” She added that “she wanted to tell the story like I would to a friend over coffee” so she chose to record her thoughts and then transcribe them rather than typing them out.

“As a public person no one really knows you,” she said. “I chose to dig deep because I felt that there has been so much written about me and I just wanted to give people an insight into what my truth is.” 

Chopra’s big break in the West came from her lead role as Alex Parrish in the TV show Quantico, a character she says she’s proud of. “I haven’t seen too many leading ladies who are Indian in American TV and films,” she said. “I was proud of being able to play a mainstream character without being burdened by my heritage, which should be an asset.”

Speaking of her marriage to American pop singer Nick Jonas, she said that the two shared a creative partnership and often bounced ideas off each other. “The one thing my marriage has taught me is having your partner give complete credence and credit to the job that you do. It’s amazing when I see how Nick accommodates my career and choices,” she said.

“I didn’t realise that I needed my partner to understand the value of how much hard work I’ve put into building this career.” Incidentally Jonas’ favourite PC film is Dil Dhadakne Do, which he has watched several times.

A wide-eyed girl from Bareilly became Miss World in 2000. She took Bollywood by storm, before establishing herself as a global star and a powerful voice for women across the world. Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ journey and ability to reinvent herself and defy boundaries is fascinating. Beneath the confidence and swag, are there things that can rattle this desi girl? In her memoir, Unfinished, that will release next year, she hopes to reveal that and more. Priyanka, in an exclusive chat with Bombay Times, talks about her book and life beyond the obvious. Excerpts:

To maintain a strong, invincible front was always a choice for me. As a woman in the entertainment business, it was important to not show the chinks in your armour. I just decided to put my head down and let my work speak. Redefining rules that contain us or defying a pre-determined path is something I’ve always pushed for. As someone living in the 21st century, we should all be able to define the trajectory of our own lives. I am lucky to have had a family that encouraged me to push the boundaries and defy the stereotypes that existed. We are all human, and hopefully, Unfinished will show you the human side of me. My family, friends and team are the key people who have been a part of this journey with me.

I’m a small-town girl who had dreams and aspirations bigger than I was supposed to have. So, with my story, I hope the reader understands the resilience and grace under fire that is needed to chase their dreams. I will leave it to the readers to find their connect with my story, but I hope it inspires them to push boundaries and to be the best version of themselves. It was a cathartic experience writing this, as it brought so many memories back to the surface for me, which is my reward in so many ways.

Not for me. Unfinished business is not incomplete if it doesn’t fit the trajectory of your life. I prefer not to carry baggage, and I do that by not taking that extra load as I move forward. It’s a positive thing in my perspective. I zeroed in on this name because by God’s grace, I’ve done a lot, but there are a lot of things that I want to do, so still ‘unfinished’.

The book will give you an insight into my journey in my words… it’s sort of the ‘in-between interviews’ version of my life, the public version versus my real story. People may see it as a fairy tale. I’m glad it was perceived so. I’ve always been private about my struggles, which I will discuss in the book.

That’s for me to know and you to find out when you read the book. It is a vulnerable version of me that only I can explain, a curtains-down look at my life in my words.

You can do what you dream of. You just have to try. Add hard work, perseverance, confidence, determination and vision into the mix — and the world is yours! Having said that, I also want them to know that it’s okay to pick up, walk away, leave things unfinished and move on to what’s next if that’s what your journey requires to get to the next destination. Everyone’s story is different, so what you focus on is what you can create for yourself.