Priyanka Chopra might be the OG 'Desi Girl' of Bollywood, but the actor wasn't well versed with Hindi film dance style, filmmaker Suneel Darshan has revealed. He produced Priyanka's breakout Bollywood film, Andaaz. The 2003 romantic musical marked the screen debuts of Lara Dutta and Priyanka, after their respective beauty pageant wins. Andaaz was headlined by Akshay Kumar. Darshan said in an interview that when they began filming a dance sequence for the film, they realised Priyanka Chopra didn't have the Bollywood "lachak." In an interview with Zoom Entertainment, Suneel Darshan said that the majority of Priyanka's work was done in South Africa, where the team initially shot for a month-long schedule where they realised dancing wasn't the debutant's strongest point. "We filmed a schedule there, and realised that her Bollywood dance style, the 'lachak', wasn't too satisfying. We were filming the song 'Allah Kare Dil Na Lage', and coincidentally, on September 15, 2002, Akshay Kunar's first son was born. So the situation changed. We abandoned the shooting and left for Mumbai, thinking we will come back later," he said. The filmmaker said that Priyanka was good, but "not to that level," and noted how the actor was always hungry to work hard and push herself. "But the girl had incredible passion and determination I knew she would be able to do anything," he said. Suneel Darshan said that he decided to enroll Priyanka in a month-long training course under choreographer Veeru Krishnan, which began immediately after they landed in Mumbai. "So Priyanka and her mother, from 7 in the morning till midnight, would be there. She devoted 30 days to that and learnt from him. When we went back to shoot, she was a changed girl. She delivered beautifully," he recalled. Andaaz marked the start of Priyanka's Bollywood journey, which ultimately led to her become a global sensation with Hollywood films and TV series under her belt.
