Priyanka Chopra’s Kalpana Chawla biopic stalled?

Speculations have been rife about Priyanka Chopra doing a biopic on the late Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian origin in space. However, we hear that it’s unlikely to happen as Jean-Pierre Harrison, Kalpana’s husband, has apparently declined to part with the rights.

Reportedly, the film was to be helmed by Priya Mishra for PC’s production house, Purple Pebble Pictures. The director had been working on the project for over seven years and had even met the late astronaut’s father, BL Chawla, in Karnal several times before he allegedly signed the deal with her.

Incidentally, during her recent visit to Delhi for an event, the actress was asked about the Kalpana Chawla biopic. However, Priyanka, who had earlier shown keen interest in telling the story of the late astronaut, replied that she was still looking for the right script. Kalpana was one of the crew members aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia which disintegrated during re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere on February 1, 2003.

However, our source tells us that the movie isn’t likely to materialise till Harrison, who has also written The Edge Of Time: The Authoritative Biography Of Kalpana Chawla, shares the rights for the film. According to our source, “After Kalpana’s demise, all rights associated with her estate are said to have been transferred to Harrison and no one else besides him can give the permission to make the film. Even though Priya may have got the go-ahead from Kalpana’s father, it seems that alone may not be enough to make the biopic. Priyanka’s team has tried to acquire the said rights from Harrison, but apparently, he hasn’t agreed to grant them yet.”