Priyanka Chopra didn’t want to be a part of Aitraaz: ‘She was hesitant that she will get stereotyped as a vamp’

Priyanka herself acknowledged the risk she took by accepting the role. In an Instagram post commemorating the film’s 16-year anniversary in 2020, she had written, “2004, one year into being an actor, I played Sonia Roy in the Abbas-Mustan thriller Aitraaz. It was by far the boldest part I had taken on, which was a big risk at the time since I was very new in the film business. I must admit I was scared as hell but the artist inside me was crying for a chance to do something interesting and Sonia was exactly that… wicked, predatory, complicated and self-serving for the most part, but also surprisingly vulnerable and emotional.”

“I will forever be grateful to the dynamic director duo of Abbas-Mustan, not only for trusting such a relative newcomer like me for this role, but for also understanding my inhibitions and pushing me to deliver a performance to be proud of. Today, 16 years later, as I look back, Aitraaz was a game changer for me. It taught me to play my characters with conviction and not judgement,” she had added.

Aitraaz not only garnered Priyanka critical acclaim but also opened doors to new opportunities. Ghai revealed that her performance in Aitraaz landed her the lead role in the 2006 blockbuster Krrish, starring Hrithik Roshan in the lead. “Priyanka had this doubt that whether she would get heroine roles after this film or not. Before the film had released, (filmmaker) Rakesh Roshan and (actor) Hrithik Roshan had told me they were looking for the female lead in their film Krrish. I told Rakesh to watch the rough print of Aitraaz, when we were just halfway done shooting the film. I showed six to seven reels of Priyanka’s performance to Rakesh and Hrithik, and they immediately cast her for Krrish the next day. She even sent me a bouquet of flowers to thank me for it,” he revealed.