Happy birthday Parineeti Chopra: When ‘proud YRF girl’ got a sudden call from Yash Chopra at 6:30 am

Parineeti Chopra's initial intention was to join the accounts department at YRF, but she eventually became an actor at Rani Mukerji's encouragement.

Parineeti Chopra holds a triple honours degree in business, finance and economics from Manchester Business School, Chopra. (Photo: Express Archive)

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

Actor Parineeti Chopra turned 35 today; her first birthday post her wedding with Raghav Chadha last month. But we are not here to talk about her wedding; instead, let’s walk down memory lane and see how she started her career and accidentally became an actor. Parineeti holds a triple honours degree in business, finance and economics from Manchester Business School. She returned to India during the 2009 economic recession and joined Yash Raj Films as a public relations consultant, as she wanted to become a corporate professional.

Also read | Parineeti Chopra reacts to an old video where she correctly predicted her wedding, calls herself a ‘jyotish’: ‘I’m very impressed with myself’

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @parineetichopra

Parineeti’s initial intention was to join the accounts department at YRF as she was fascinated with the financial workings of a big production house. While it is said that filmmaker Maneesh Sharma spotted Parineeti’s acting potential when she auditioned for her debut film Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, under the YRF (Yash Raj Films) banner, it was actor Rani Mukerji who actually made Parineeti think about acting as a career.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @parineetichopra

When Parineeti appeared on Karan Johar’s Koffee with Karan in 2014, she told the filmmaker how her life changed when she accompanied Rani Mukerji on the sets of Bigg Boss. Parineeti recalled that she was filling in for Rani’s manager that day. Parineeti was signed to a three-film deal by YRF, whose head honcho is Rani’s husband Aditya Chopra, and went on to star in Ishaqzaade (2012), Shuddh Desi Romance (2013), Kill Dil (2014) and Meri Pyaari Bindu (2017).

Also read | When Rani Mukerji asked Parineeti Chopra ‘You are Priyanka Chopra’s cousin, why aren’t you an actor?’: ‘You will be a great actress’

Parineeti won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her role in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl.

Parineeti won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her role in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl. (Photo: Express Archive)

Parineeti also made her singing debut with Meri Pyaari Bindu’s song ‘Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahin’.

Story continues below this ad

In an old interview, Parinneti once called herself a ‘proud YRF girl’. “I am a very proud YRF girl. I have had the privilege to debut under the banner. Even though I could never be directed by Yash Chopra sir, but he was cutest, sweetest and friendliest mentor to have,” Parineeti told IANS in an old interview.

Parinneti once called herself a ‘proud YRF girl’. (Photo: Express Archive)

Recalling an anecdote about the late filmmaker, Parineeti said, “One day when my first film Ladies vs Ricky Bahl had just released and I was shooting for my second film Ishaqzaade, I was on the set at 6:30 a.m. and suddenly I got a call from Yash Chopra sir. At that time, I panicked because I thought I had made some mistakes because I was very new at that point. But when I picked his call, he said something so special that it made me cry.”

“He said, ‘Yesterday I saw your film Ladies vs Ricky Bahl and thank you for being part of my film’. I couldn’t believe that Yash Chopra the great was saying this to me and I just realised in that instance that there is nothing bigger than humility. The bigger you become, the more humble you should become and that is something that I always remember Yashji for,” shared the actor.

Parineeti’s 11-year association with Yash Raj Films’ talent agency came to an end in 2022. (Photo: Express Archive)

It was in November 2022 that Parineeti’s 11-year association with Yash Raj Films’ talent agency came to an end. The actor never spoke about it but shared a cryptic post on Instagram, declaring that she is now ‘free’.

Kriti Sonali

Kriti works as a Copy Editor for the Entertainment section of Indian Express Online (Indianexpress.com). She is great at web stories, galleries, and Express Archive's photo stories. She is good at spotting stories from social media posts. She makes the copies well-loaded with content, photos, tweets, and other related social media posts to make it interesting for the readers. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, Chennai (Specialization in New Media), Kriti has been a part of the organisation since November 2015. She took a transfer from Delhi to Bengaluru in April 2017. ... Read More

Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.

Tags:
Parineeti Chopra

The police said the trio from Chandigarh — Rohan (21), Sumit (22), and Mohit (19) — were dhol players by profession and had procured the weapons due to an old rivalry with local residents.

Suspecting affair, Odisha lecturer assaults wife and her friend, parades them on street

India5 hr ago

A lecturer of Commerce and his associate were arrested for assaulting his wife, garlanding her with slippers and parading her on the road with her male friend. The woman, who has been living separately from her husband, was assaulted and humiliated in public. The incident was recorded and shared on social media. Police have seized evidence and are investigating the matter.

View all shorts

More Entertainment

Entertainment Bollywood couple demands 11 vanity vans, separate kitchens, gyms; Amitabh Bachchan is only one who doesn't, says Sanjay Gupta: 'Ek mein saab nanga baithte hain'