Priyanka Chopra says ‘many things’ were said about her Hollywood debut: ‘That I was fluke, got job because someone recommended me’

When asked if there was a section which dubbed her Hollywood debut several names, Priyanka told indianexpress.com that she has over the years heard “everything” about her, but never paid heed.

“Of course, I heard it (that it was a fluke). I hear everything, I don’t feel the need to respond to it because I know my truth. I was supposed to be a fluke, I had paid for my own advertising, I had gotten the job because someone recommended me and not because I auditioned four times. So many things were said. But you know, logo ka kaam hai kehna,” she said.

Post Quantico, which ran from 2015-2108, Priyanka went on to star in projects like Baywatch, Isn’t It Romantic, The White Tiger and The Matrix Resurrections. The projects came after an initial hiccup, when Priyanka had mentioned how the West didn’t warm up to her for headlining their projects because she was a brown face.

When asked if her success over the years has helped break the racial stereotype, she said, “Oh yeah, definitely. It takes one leader to make one change, and then you will see, then four and then suddenly it is a community. I saw that community. I started doing this South Asians pre-Oscar party last year. It was smaller but really amazing and this year it was on a much larger scale.

“I wanted to be able to showcase to not just the press in Hollywood but to Hollywood as an industry themselves that there is power in numbers. We are not just four or five people you see, we are 400 of us. We come from behind the camera, in front of the camera, we are creators, we come from all parts of the world…”

Going international not just changed Priyanka’s professional life but also personal, as she went on to marry pop star Nick Jonas in 2018. The couple, parents to a baby daughter, were recently in India. While Priyanka was in Mumbai as part of her promotional tour for her upcoming Prime Video series Citadel, she was joined by Nick and her daughter Malti Marie.

During their trip, Priyanka and Nick also attended the grand opening of Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), where the Indian paparazzi had a ball covering Nick, who is fondly called “national jiju.”

When asked about the love Nick gets in the country, Priyanka said, “It feels so nice to me, my husband means the world to me, he respects my culture, my country, my family so much that it makes me so happy to see my country giving him that respect and love as well.

“I actually stood back (at the NMACC event) and was smiling. He did too, he feels so accepted, and proud, he loves coming back to Mumbai. It was very important for him that he come here on Malti’s first trip, even if it was just for two days. It really warms my heart– the national jiju,” she added.