Why Priyanka went barefoot to Vaishno Dev

"It was an awesome experience. I felt so much at peace just walking up that hill. I feel a load off my shoulder now," Priyanka told IANS about her three-day trip to Vaishno Devi with her parents.

"What was it for? Oh, it was a sense of accumulated gratitude that took me to Vaishno Devi," said Priyanka from Malaysia where she has rejoined the unit of "Don" after a three-day break.

"I guess the visit to Vaishno Devi was long due. And I wanted it to happen before my father's next surgery. My father's illness was a reason for the pilgrimage. So was the release of 'Krrish'.

"So many things, good and bad, have been happening lately. Fortunately there has been no end to things to be grateful for. I guess I had a lot to speak to god about. So I just flew off to Jammu with my parents."

At Vaishno Devi, Priyanka went barefoot up the hill while her parents were taken by a chopper.

"It was tough. But why do we need to talk about it? As a daughter and as an individual I have a certain relationship with god. And I value that relationship above everything else."

Did she fly down from Malaysia only for the trip to Vaishno Devi?

"Of course! The minute I could get Farhan Akhtar to let me go, I flew back to Mumbai. I had been delaying the pilgrimage for a while now. My schedule just didn't allow me to take that crucial break. Now I am back to work on 'Don'."

Kareena Kapoor joins the unit of "Don", a remake of the 1970s hit and starring Shah Rukh Khan, in Malaysia from Thursday.

"That should be good fun. Kareena and I go back to 'Aitraaz'. We had a ball over that film," said Priyanka.

She'll be unable to go to International Indian Film Academy ceremony taking place in Dubai.

"We are shooting in Malaysia non-stop until June 18. I have always given my work top priority over anything else. I have never allowed any event, no matter how important, to come in the way of my work."