Priyanka Chopra, in a recent interview, recalled an incident from her early days in Bollywood when she was dropped from a film because another female actor was favored over her.
Though Priyanka Chopra today enjoys an illustrious global career, her early days in the film industry were far from easy. She faced setbacks, including being dropped from films despite signing contracts, and endured moments where favoritism overshadowed her talent.
Recently while speaking at Harvard Business School, the Quantico star shared a candid memory from her early career where she recalled how, at just 22, she lost a film in an instant, despite having already signed the contract.
Priyanka revealed that while filming Nikhil Advani’s multistarrer Salaam-E-Ishq in 2007, her supposed male co-star from an upcoming project visited her on set. Believing he was there to support her, she was shocked when he informed her the film had been given to another actress.
The actress recalled, “He goes, ‘The director gave you this movie by mistake. It was his mistake. This was always supposed to go to this other girl but we will do another one together, don’t worry about it. I just wanted to tell you myself.’ And he ate some food and left.”
Admitting that the incident left her heartbroken, Priyanka said, “My heart just crushed and I was like, ‘I signed a contract. Like, what do you mean?’ But that’s how it was,” she said, adding that such experiences happened multiple times in her career.
Despite already having successful films to her credit, she confessed she briefly considered leaving the industry and returning to college. But instead, she chose to double down on her craft. “I decided to focus on my work, and that took me through my career and got me more opportunities,” she said in her interaction.
Priyanka also recalled how, early in her career, a few films were taken away from her.
The Krrish actress said, “I was cast as a lead and suddenly, I was cast as a second lead because somebody else… You know, the politics of it just struck me and I realised that no one is making a movie for me. This person is not my uncle or I haven’t been to their home since I was 4 years old and that started becoming really apparent when you met friends and colleagues.”
Yet amid the setbacks, the actress began receiving strong reviews for her performances, which gave her the confidence to stay the course. She started looking for a variety of roles, a decision that ultimately shaped her journey to stardom.
On the work front, Priyanka will next be seen in SS Rajamouli’s upcoming film Varanasi. Co-starring Mahesh Babu, the film is slated to hit the big screens in 2027.
