Posted:
http://www.filmfare.com/features/global-fusion-11035-3.html#descArticle
After doing Quantico, has your perspective towards Hindi films changed?
Please man! I'll keep doing potboilers. Ussike liye toh jeeti hoon main. If I don't do a song in six months, mujhe kuch hone lagta hai. I need to do songs. Art in any form is art. Hindi cinema is not a stepping stone for me. It's my career. I'll do other things but I'll keep coming back to it. I've never taken a break from India. Why should I? I've been working on international projects for three years now. I go where my work takes me - never mind if it's Yugoslavia. Duniya ab chhoti ho gayi hai. The web has made it small.
How do your Quantico co-stars view India?
Rapes happen in India'. Indian actors only dance and sing'. Indian actors run in high speed with oil on their bodies'. This is the general perception about India. People out there would joke now she's going to break into a song and dance.' I'd turn around and counter them by saying that our movies are musicals, we tell stories through songs. Though I can't explain why 50 dancers suddenly come in. I explain the culture to them nevertheless. The stereotypes make me angry. But I can't negate them either.
When Indian actors aren't taken seriously, it irritates me. During lunch I'd play Hindi music. I'd get everyone to dance to Hindi music, I'm Bollywoodising' them. (Laughs) I'm corrupting them. Many of my friends have come down to India to experience Indian cinema. It's magical, phenomenal. They believe we don't take our jobs seriously because we show six men go flying with one punch. They think it's all gimmick.
But I hope with actors like Irrfan Khan, Anil Kapoor going out there and playing relevant parts, things will change. Like when I saw Jurassic World in Bhopal the other day, I was so excited to see Irrfan. We were screaming in the theatre every time he came on screen. He's not a stereotype. He spoke the way he does, he was cool. I felt proud. I hope with Quantico I can make people realise that Indian actors are not just about gimmicks. We're professionals.
What's next after Bajirao Mastani?
I'm in a tricky situation right now. I can't start anything till next year once Quantico is done. My problem is I'm greedy for work. I've four extraordinary things being offered right now. I can only accept two. So I'm frustrated. I'm not taking any decision. I'm just waiting and I don't know for what. I'm stuck. Mera dil bada dukhta hai. I had said yes to Mr Chalu but I guess there are some dates issues. I don't know if it will be made or not made.
Please man! I'll keep doing potboilers. Ussike liye toh jeeti hoon main. If I don't do a song in six months, mujhe kuch hone lagta hai. I need to do songs. Art in any form is art. Hindi cinema is not a stepping stone for me. It's my career. I'll do other things but I'll keep coming back to it. I've never taken a break from India. Why should I? I've been working on international projects for three years now. I go where my work takes me - never mind if it's Yugoslavia. Duniya ab chhoti ho gayi hai. The web has made it small.
How do your Quantico co-stars view India?
Rapes happen in India'. Indian actors only dance and sing'. Indian actors run in high speed with oil on their bodies'. This is the general perception about India. People out there would joke now she's going to break into a song and dance.' I'd turn around and counter them by saying that our movies are musicals, we tell stories through songs. Though I can't explain why 50 dancers suddenly come in. I explain the culture to them nevertheless. The stereotypes make me angry. But I can't negate them either.
When Indian actors aren't taken seriously, it irritates me. During lunch I'd play Hindi music. I'd get everyone to dance to Hindi music, I'm Bollywoodising' them. (Laughs) I'm corrupting them. Many of my friends have come down to India to experience Indian cinema. It's magical, phenomenal. They believe we don't take our jobs seriously because we show six men go flying with one punch. They think it's all gimmick.
But I hope with actors like Irrfan Khan, Anil Kapoor going out there and playing relevant parts, things will change. Like when I saw Jurassic World in Bhopal the other day, I was so excited to see Irrfan. We were screaming in the theatre every time he came on screen. He's not a stereotype. He spoke the way he does, he was cool. I felt proud. I hope with Quantico I can make people realise that Indian actors are not just about gimmicks. We're professionals.
What's next after Bajirao Mastani?
I'm in a tricky situation right now. I can't start anything till next year once Quantico is done. My problem is I'm greedy for work. I've four extraordinary things being offered right now. I can only accept two. So I'm frustrated. I'm not taking any decision. I'm just waiting and I don't know for what. I'm stuck. Mera dil bada dukhta hai. I had said yes to Mr Chalu but I guess there are some dates issues. I don't know if it will be made or not made.
Ranveer Singh and you've played out different relationships on screen. He said that he liked you most as his sister...
(Laughs) He was promoting Dil Dhadakne Do (DDD) at that time na. I have only one brother - Siddharth. But yes Ranveer and I are comfortable with each other. Maybe, because I have done three films (Gunday, DDD and Bajirao Mastani) with him. Ours is an easy relationship. As colleagues you respect each other's space. But we, as friends, can say anything to each other. If you're pissed with each other, you can yell. Ussko to mujhse bahut jhaad mili hai. But it's that kind of relationship. Jaya Bhaduri-Sanjeev Kumar, Aishwarya-Shah Rukh Khan and now Ranveer and I have played brother-sister on screen apart from romantic leads.
Parineeti Chopra, Shraddha Kapoor and Alia Bhatt... how do you view the young brigade's work?
All three of them have different things to offer. Which is why all three will be successful. They're not interchangeable. I hate that producer who once said heroines are interchangeable'. I told him three-four years back, "Sir, I'm not interchangeable anymore." He said, "Arrey Priyanka those days it was like that only." I said, "No sir it was never like that."
Any other such chauvinistic experiences?
Once I walked out of a film because the director spoke cheaply about me. He was explaining to my costume designer what kind of outfit I should be wearing. He said, "Dekho bhaiya, gana bikna hai, chaddhiyan dikhni chahiye!" I was standing right there. Yes, I was playing an escort in the film. But the comment reflected how you look at me. I ran to my car crying and left the set. I went home and told my mother to return his money. He said returning the signing amount was not enough. What about the two days of shooting. So I gave him that money also, which was more than my remuneration for the film. He came back to me with four films later but I never worked with him. I have to respect people I work with. He was like bhool jao. But I couldn't forget that incident. Today we're friends. I speak to him nicely. But I can't work with him. I can't forget how I felt that day. And when you are new and somebody treats you badly then it hurts more because then you're a nobody.
Was the industry a different place 15 years back?
Some things still exist. I tell my actor sisters how people treat you depends on how you conduct yourself. Mannara, my cousin, wanted to learn so she visited me on the Jai Gangaajal set. She watched me work. You can't demand respect. You have to command it. It doesn't mean you have to have airs about yourself. But be clear that no one can cross the line with you, no matter who it is. I was told that you don't belong to any clan and you're an outsider, so survival will be difficult. But I said I have come here to work and not make friends. My ambition was not to be invited to all the parties. My ambition was to be relevant.
(Laughs) He was promoting Dil Dhadakne Do (DDD) at that time na. I have only one brother - Siddharth. But yes Ranveer and I are comfortable with each other. Maybe, because I have done three films (Gunday, DDD and Bajirao Mastani) with him. Ours is an easy relationship. As colleagues you respect each other's space. But we, as friends, can say anything to each other. If you're pissed with each other, you can yell. Ussko to mujhse bahut jhaad mili hai. But it's that kind of relationship. Jaya Bhaduri-Sanjeev Kumar, Aishwarya-Shah Rukh Khan and now Ranveer and I have played brother-sister on screen apart from romantic leads.
Parineeti Chopra, Shraddha Kapoor and Alia Bhatt... how do you view the young brigade's work?
All three of them have different things to offer. Which is why all three will be successful. They're not interchangeable. I hate that producer who once said heroines are interchangeable'. I told him three-four years back, "Sir, I'm not interchangeable anymore." He said, "Arrey Priyanka those days it was like that only." I said, "No sir it was never like that."
Any other such chauvinistic experiences?
Once I walked out of a film because the director spoke cheaply about me. He was explaining to my costume designer what kind of outfit I should be wearing. He said, "Dekho bhaiya, gana bikna hai, chaddhiyan dikhni chahiye!" I was standing right there. Yes, I was playing an escort in the film. But the comment reflected how you look at me. I ran to my car crying and left the set. I went home and told my mother to return his money. He said returning the signing amount was not enough. What about the two days of shooting. So I gave him that money also, which was more than my remuneration for the film. He came back to me with four films later but I never worked with him. I have to respect people I work with. He was like bhool jao. But I couldn't forget that incident. Today we're friends. I speak to him nicely. But I can't work with him. I can't forget how I felt that day. And when you are new and somebody treats you badly then it hurts more because then you're a nobody.
Was the industry a different place 15 years back?
Some things still exist. I tell my actor sisters how people treat you depends on how you conduct yourself. Mannara, my cousin, wanted to learn so she visited me on the Jai Gangaajal set. She watched me work. You can't demand respect. You have to command it. It doesn't mean you have to have airs about yourself. But be clear that no one can cross the line with you, no matter who it is. I was told that you don't belong to any clan and you're an outsider, so survival will be difficult. But I said I have come here to work and not make friends. My ambition was not to be invited to all the parties. My ambition was to be relevant.
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