Diwali is always a fun time: Priyanka Chopra

From winning the Miss World title as a teenager to being a superstar, Priyanka Chopra has done it all. But what’s kept her going is her positive attitude and her ability to accept whatever pressures life throws at her. Aniruddha Guha finds out how she handles her life and career

 Priyanka Chopra is a busy woman. With four releases already behind her in 2008, she’s gearing up for the much-awaited Diwali release Fashion, where she plays one of the three female protagonists. Between giving ‘bytes’ to the electronic media about the alleged ‘sizzling’ lovemaking scenes with Arjan Bajwa and rumoured catfights with co-actor Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka’s face lights up at the mention of Diwali.

A Punjabi, who has lived in several cities across India, thanks to her dad’s army career, Priyanka always gets nostalgic around this time. “Festivals were always a fun time but Diwali especially so. As a kid there was a lot to look forward to: new clothes, gifts and, importantly, the chutti,” says Priyanka, who still lights the diyas at home, “Even today, it is my responsibility to light up the diyas at home, unless I’m shooting abroad. But if in town, I love to follow the ritual. Not that I have a choice, my mother starts grumbling otherwise.”

Winning the Miss World title at 17 and following that with a successful Bollywood career has made a pro out of Priyanka. She can ward off controversial questions with both ease and élan. Ask her how difficult it was to adapt to the adulation and pressure at such a young age and she says, “I didn’t take the pressure at all. At 17, when I won the crown, I enjoyed the experience too much to think about the pressure and other issues. I just went with the flow.”

Starting her career with Andaaz, for which she won a Filmfare award for best debutante, thirty-odd films later, Priyanka is older and wiser, “My attitude is what helps me combat stress today; I’m wiser in dealing with pressure now. I don’t tend to dwell on problems too much and accept what life has to offer with a smile. Besides, dealing with pressure is one of the pre-requisites if you want to survive in the entertainment industry.”

After a moment, she continues, “I hate to bother my family and friends when there’s a crisis in my life. Of course, I talk it out with them, or even turn to them for help when I need it. But more than anybody else, I turn to myself. I tend to introspect a lot, think about what went wrong and find a solution, and then move on. It’s all a state of mind, frankly.”

An attitude she attributes to her growing up years, “I moved from one city to another during my schooling days, as her father was in the army, but didn’t mind it at all. Shifting schools often, meant I could be as naughty at school as I wanted to be because I knew that I’d be somewhere else soon,” she grins. “But importantly, I welcomed it as a new experience. I think that’s what made me adaptable, which helps me even today.”
From a schoolteacher who falls in love with a Naxal in Chamku to being bodyguard to superhero Drona — Priyanka’s latest film is a can of controversies but her take on the film is that of a mature woman.

“Women face exploitation in a lot of professions. Haven’t we heard of sexual harassment cases in corporates, the hospitality industry and even educational institutes?” she says about Fashion. “The film isn’t any kind of exposé on the glamour industry, nor about how the big, bad world of entertainment treats newcomers. It’s a story about achieving fame and adulation, and the way you deal with it,” signs off Priyanka in her trademark spirited self.
g_aniruddha@dnaindia.net