‘Priyanka Chopra was intimidated by Thalapathy Vijay during Thamizhan,’ recalls mom Madhu: ‘I was nervous, how a young girl would act with a star’

Recalling Priyanka Chopra’s debut film in which she starred opposite 'Thalapathy' Vijay, her mother Madhu Chopra shared that the Tamil star instilled confidence in her.

By: Entertainment Desk

Kochi | Updated: March 12, 2025 09:53 PM IST

3 min read

Priyanka Chopra and Vijay in her debut film Thamizhan.

Although she has often credited Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, as her hometown, it was Mumbai that gave Priyanka Chopra a life in the entertainment industry. The global icon’s mother Madhu Chopra recently took a trip down memory lane and opened up about their early days in Bollywood’s capital city, where Priyanka also met for the first time Tamanna Dutt, who would later become her best friend. She also spoke about Priyanka’s initial films, and her camaraderie with Vijay.

Recalling Priyanka’s debut film, the Tamil action drama Thamizhan (2002), in which she starred opposite “Thalapathy” Vijay, Madhu shared that the Tamil star instilled confidence in the then 19-year-old actor. She shared with Pinkvilla, “Vijay is a very good person. Priyanka was initially intimidated by him; even I was nervous about how such a young girl would act alongside such a big star. But he was very kind to her. Vijay was her first mentor; he never let her lose her confidence.” She recalled further, “He was an excellent dancer and the movie’s choreography was handled by Prabhu Deva’s brother Raju Sundaram. Therefore, the steps were difficult; it wasn’t all fun and games. But she was very well looked after.”

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Madhu also spoke about their early days in Mumbai after she won the beauty pageant, and Madhu moved with her to lend her support. She recalled that they first moved in with some extended family members in Mumabi’s Kandivali area. “At first, I found travelling from one place to another difficult. Back home, we drove our own car. But here in Mumbai, we had to take the local train. It was terrifying at first. We used to leave Kandivali at 5.30 am and reach coach Mickey Mehta’s at 6.30 am. We did a lot of footwork here in Bombay,” she shared.

Madhu, however, mentioned that Mumbai wasn’t as scary as other big cities, as they could easily and fearlessly take a taxi home even if they were out late at night. “Then we moved into a paying guest (PG) facility in Santacruz. That was also good. There, she met Tamanna (Dutt), who joined us as a roommate and they have been friends since then. I always felt there were stars sprinkling stardust on her (Priyanka) and some good angels watching over her. We never had to fear anything, nor did we face any major losses. Even if challenges came her way, she knew how to handle them,” she said, adding that Priyanka has always been a confident person.

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