Priyanka:I believe in the respectability that comes with being married

Priyanka Chopra, 32, already held the distinction of being one of the most beautiful women in India and the world when she was crowned Miss India and Miss World.

She is now not just one of India's biggest stars, but is also the only Indian girl to have sung singles with will.i.am and Pitbull. She is also the first Indian girl to have bagged the central lead in an American television series titled Quantico that will not only be aired across the world but also interestingly, she is playing the part of an FBI agent, which is naturally expected to be given to an American white girl, certainly not to an Indian girl. Priyanka may not have had a mentor and some of her choices may have gone wrong, but she has been fearless in making them anyway. Even her worst critics cannot deny her her talent and hard work. Over an hour-long conversation in her Andheri home, ahead of her upcoming family entertainer Dil Dhadakne Do, she talks to Bombay Times about the brutally honest Zoya Akhtar, her commonality with Kangana Ranaut and why she needs to get married to the man she loves.
Excerpts:

Given that so far Indian actors have only played marginal roles in Hollywood, the trailer of Quantico surprised everyone as no one expected your role to be so central and prominent.
I didn't expect it either. I always knew that I was the lead in the show as I had read the pilot. But when you see it, it was overwhelming. I have always wanted to travel the path untravelled. And I don't like failing, so even if you give me a small job, say clean this room, I will clean it in a way that you won't find a speck of dust here. I have been like this since I was a kid. I like doing things well, I like pushing myself. And I have had my share of failures and some of my choices have not worked out, but that's the way I am. So, when Kelly, the casting director of Quantico, met me in India in my van when I was shooting forGunday, the only request I made to her was to please give me a role that did not stereotype Indians. I told her, 'I will not headline a show because I am Bollywood and where I will sing and dance.' Not that I don't like it. I am very happy wearing bindis and doing thumkas in India and will provide music for my show as well, but I don't want my show to see Indians as only that. I didn't want a part that had anything to with the fact that I am Indian and she said fine. After competing with other very big stars, I bagged the role of the FBI agent, a bad-assed super smart girl. Even when I lived in Newton with my mausie for a couple of years while going to school, I was always under pressure to not be Indian and had to dress and speak differently, just to fit in. Kids would ask me, 'In India, do you go to school on an elephant?' It used to irk me and upset me, so, in one of my school presentations on India, I took all the high-rises and the fancy cars and the rich people like the Ambanis and the Forbes list with the Indians in it as that was my defence mechanism. To play an FBI agent, it is assumed that they will choose a Caucasian girl. No one could have imagined that they would have an Indian girl play that part. So, in the show, they have made me half-Asian and half-Caucasian as my father is white, mother Indian. The ABC Network holds the annual 'Upfronts', where they announce all their new programmes with all their stars in attendance to the world. Can you imagine I closed the Upfronts and that is usually done by the biggest stars. I am just a newbie in the US but because of the power and popularity of Indian cinema, my trailer went viral and it got the excitement amongst international advertisers so much so that Quantico is being now released in 180 countries and that is only because of the backing of our huge population and love for Hindi cinema.

Talk about working with Zoya Akhtar in Dil Dhadakne Do?
Zoya is funny and honest. I too am honest whether it has worked for me or not. I am told that sometimes I talk a lot but that's because I have believed in it. I put my money where my mouth is and Zoya is also like that. She is blatantly honest, but not at the cost of being insensitive. She has one of the most incredible voices as a filmmaker. Women with voices are considered intimidating in the business. I don't know why but a woman with power is always looked at as a threat. Maybe because we are far and few in between, you either have to cheer her on because it is the right thing to do or you feel she is a threat. Men look at women with opinion and power very differently and that's true around the world. Dil Dhadakne Dois a family entertainer. It's about loving your family but a story told from Zoya's point of view. It brings up topics without being preachy. Like for instance, the son of a businessman is the obvious choice to run the business even though he doesn't want to do it, whereas me being the daughter, who is the business-oriented person, is supposed to get married and have children. And this even though it is the affluent, educated family. In a marriage, not getting along with your husband is not enough. I am asked in the film, 'Does he not let you shop?' But I don't need his money, it's just that I don't get along with him. The film is funny and quirky and you crack up watching it as the absurdity is so huge because of Zoya's smart writing. I admire Zoya as a filmmaker and woman. And I champion for women who I admire. I was pulled down a lot when I started as I didn't have a famous boyfriend or Godfather where I was told on my face that another girl had been recommended. I was ostracised because I didn't know the right people and I had to fight to survive and the only way I could do that was by shutting up and working. That's the reason that drove me. It broke me many times but the wins that I had, made me feel that it was all worth it.

Which were your biggest wins in life?
First to win Miss India and become a Miss World even though I was not a model and in fact, aspired to be an engineer. Then Aitraazwas a big turning point in life as I was told that a woman playing a negative part was a vamp and I would not get a heroine's role thereafter, but Rakesh Roshan saw the rushes and cast me in Krrish. Fashion was a big win as I remember being told that people do female-oriented roles only at the end of their careers. But I felt that it was a great part so why should I not do it and that when I am not the messiah for women empowerment, but I never like being denied because I am a woman. In one of my first few films, this filmmaker was talking to the fashion designer in front of me in crude Hindi and saying how people come to watch heroines only if they show their legs and bodies. I walked out of that film even though it was very unprofessional and I had already shot for two days. We come from the land of the Kamasutraand cannot deny that Indian women are sexy and beautiful, but stereotyping a woman and reducing me to just that is not okay with me.

You have tremendous energy to work 24x7 and very high multi-tasking ability.
Yes, but I am tired. I have done this non-stop now since 2003. I love what I do and my work is the only thing that has stood with me like a rock along with my family and I enjoy the joy of creating and and it's amazing that I have so many different ways of doing it, but it's very tiring. Yesterday, I came home and wept as I was really tired. I had gone in a week to New York, LA once and shot for Bajirao Mastani for four days. But the great thing is that when you arrive on set, dress up in your costume, put on your make-up, go to give your shot and they say action, between that word action and cut, magic happens.



Do actors compete more with each or the actresses?
Why do we always say women have catfights and men bromance? I think both compete all the time. And I think artistes do, both male and female. But the boys have a lot more at stake. We all compete and should compete but in the last few years I have seen the girls supporting each other more. Actresses in my generation at least feel that it's better to support each other than fight with each other so that we can win the battle of being considered, if not even equal to the actors, at least relevant. Having said that, I want to come first in whatever I do. In fact, I compete with the boys and the girlsJ

What makes you get along with Kangana Ranaut?
Kangana Ranaut and Vidya Balan are two actresses who take the bar and raise it higher. I am so proud of Kangana and admire her. Also today, it's kudos to the audience, who are rejecting rubbish and want to clearly see content-driven cinema, be it with an actor or actress. Both she and I have been denied for a very long time though in different ways. We strangely have this mutual love for each other as we both fight the odds and we both don't show it. Neither does she talk about it nor do I, and we just let our work speak for ourselves. We both know that you can't deny our talent.

Why did Madamji not happen? Was the reason the high budget or the similarity of the script with a recent film?
I love Madhur Bhandarkar. I still believe in the script of Madamji. But at that time the back and forth went on for way too long to make the film and it could not happen as both of us took up other work. It's a mindblowing script and I still want to do it some day. I am not saying that it will never be made but it's just that I can't do it right now.

Does marriage figure in your life right now?
Marriage figured in my life since I was 12J I believe marriages are made in heaven. But to get married, I need to be in love with a person.

If you are in love with a person, is certification of marriage an important criteria for you?
To me, yes. I am a little old fashioned and believe in the institution and certification of marriage and believe in the respectability that comes with being married to the person you love.

So, if you loved someone, would you insist on marriage?
Yes.