Priyanka Chopra says she can see different faces and more outsiders in the industry today because people like her fought against ‘camps’ and ‘politics’ during their time in the industry.
Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra Jonas has once again spoken about the ‘politics and drama’ in Bollywood that usually led to outsiders losing opportunities. However, she highlights the importance of fighting these battles, and people from her generation fought to bring about that change in the industry. The actor is currently promoting her upcoming series Citadel on Amazon Prime Video and in an interview, she talked about not having that protective net around herself like star kids in the industry.
While speaking to Indian Express, she mentioned that it’s also important to simply have these conversations. Priyanka said once you talk about the issues, there’s a collective awareness that spreads among people and that helps in the longer run. She said, “The Hindi film industry has changed so much in the last five to ten years. You have so many talents – writers, directors, and actors that come from outside the industry. When I first started, that was not the case, at all. So I think having conversations around the fact that the workplace should be merit-based, that the workplace should be a positive environment, that casting should be a casting director’s job instead of the politics and the drama.”
PRIYANKA CHOPRA ON ‘BOLLYWOOD CAMPS’ RULING CASTING
She went on to talk about the ‘Bollywood camps’ that dictate who should be given which opportunity, especially when it’s a big film and a big role. Priyanka added, “I think having those conversations is really, really important so that there are no camps that actually rule casting. And it is done because of merit and because of audiences wanting to watch people.”
Priyanka mentioned that she can see so many outsiders and different faces doing well in the industry today and that is the result of the fight that people like her have taken in the past. She said, “I am so excited to be able to see so many new faces from outside (of the film industry) and different parts of the country who have come into mainstream Hindi language entertainment. It gives me such joy, to be able to see that in my own career. And that happened because my generation of actors fought for it.”
WHEN PRIYANKA CHOPRA TALKED ABOUT HAVING ‘BEEF’ WITH PEOPLE
Priyanka earlier spoke about having ‘beef’ with people in Bollywood and being the victim of politics to the level that she decided to move West in search of more opportunities. In Dax Shepeherd’s podcast Armchair Expert, Priyanka said, “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.”
Citadel, Priyanka’s maiden series with the Russo Brothers, will start streaming on Amazon Prime from April 28. It also stars the Game of Thrones fame Richard Madden opposite her.