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Journalism of Courage
Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar, who saw Priyanka Chopra’s early years in the industry, recalled how she handled intense rumours about her private life in a recent interview with Vickey Lalwani.
Describing her as “a great person to work with. She’s very ambitious, she’s very single-minded, very focused. And she has a certain sense of dignity which she will not allow people to enter,” he added, “Her whole so-called affair with… She never made a comment on it. Everybody else was commenting. She never said a word. She held her dignity. If it were a frivolous relationship, she would have laughed. Obviously, it was serious. It was very personal to her. She didn’t want it to be written about, she didn’t want it to be talked about (sic).”
His comments underline the larger question of how individuals choose to navigate dignity, privacy, and public speculation in matters of the heart. Even when everyone else is talking, silence can be a powerful way of setting boundaries.
Kakkar also spoke about the grit that defined her career journey, but eventually, when she felt cornered, Priyanka herself explained why she took a bold leap in Dax Shepard’s podcast. “I was being pushed into a corner in the industry (Bollywood). I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, I am not good at playing that game, so I kind of was tired of the politics and I said I needed a break,” she said.
As Kakkar noted, “When the industry decided that she was too old for young heroines, she was the first Indian heroine to move abroad and make it there. Who takes that kind of risk? You’re getting bit roles, you’re getting parts, you’re not top of the line anymore, and you decide, ‘F**k it, I’m going to restart my career’.”
Psychologist Rasshi Gurnani tells indianexpress.com, “When gossip or outside judgement intrudes on a personal relationship, the healthiest response is to hold firm boundaries without engaging in defensive explanations. From a psychological perspective, this involves practicing emotional detachment—acknowledging the noise but not internalising it.”
She adds that people can rely on self-validation instead of external validation, reminding themselves that their worth isn’t determined by public opinion. Using assertive communication helps too—saying little but with clarity, which reinforces dignity while reducing the fuel that gossip thrives on.
Gurnani mentions that deeling cornered in careers or relationships “often signals a buildup of chronic stress and emotional exhaustion.” The turning point comes when continued effort leads to diminishing returns, a state psychologists describe as burnout. Recognising this is less about quitting and more about acknowledging misalignment between values, needs, and the environment. Taking a bold step then becomes an act of agency—reclaiming control over one’s narrative.
“Risk in such decisions is inevitable, but the process of change often restores a sense of authenticity and psychological well-being, which outweighs the temporary uncertainty,” concludes Gurnani.
