Priyanka Chopra, or PC as she's popularly referred to in India, has truly come a long way since winning the Miss World pageant in 2000 (after being the runner-up at the Femina Miss India contest in the same year) and starring in her debut Bollywood film, 2003's The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (whose abysmal memory we've thankfully managed to bury forever).
We remember first meeting Priyanka at the Khaleej Times office during a promotional blitz for her critically acclaimed film Barfi! Did we imagine that just a few years later her face would be plastered over billboards in the US and that, post her Bollywood successes, she would be on her way to becoming a popular Hollywood star? Probably not, but there could have been a glint of ambition in those alluring eyes that we may just have missed.
Here's why we think she's absolutely fabulous and deserves to be our It Girl for the week:
Priyanka, the UNICEF ambassador
We have to mention this first, because when celebs take time out from their super busy lives to help or champion the cause of the less fortunate, they make a much bigger impression on us than when they're dancing around trees or singing songs or generally providing the escapist entertainment we crave on an almost daily basis. Don't get us wrong, we love all that 'Bollywood stuff'. But seeing Priyanka interacting with refugee children in Jordan recently touched our hearts (especially a clip where a young fan of Katrina Kaif was featured on PC's Instagram page, with the actress giving a shout out to Kaif as well). As a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, we're sure she will bring smiles to many more children's faces and perhaps a much needed awareness of issues that they face around the world.
Priyanka, the Bollywood star
Okay, so before we witnessed her talent (and some may say slightly dodgy American accent) on Quantico and Baywatch, India and Bollywood fans around the world knew PC as the talented and attractive star of blockbuster films like Krrish, Don, Kaminey, Barfi!, Aitraaz and Fashion, to name just a few. Our personal favourites are Dostana (a breezy, daft comedy where she played an American expat who attracts the attention of both John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan) and Zoya Akhtar's poignant and witty sea-cruise drama Dil Dhadakne Do, where her portrayal of an unhappy (yet always immaculately turned out) wife was memorable. Of course we're rooting for a sequel to DDD, because we think Farhan Akhtar-Priyanka will make a pretty awesome (not to mention ridiculously attractive) pair on screen!
Priyanka takes Hollywood?
We're really excited for PC's new films -A Kid like Jake and Isn't it Romantic, which are scheduled for release in 2018 and 2019 respectively and will feature her alongside stars like Claire Danes, Octavia Spencer, Rebel Wilson and Liam Hemsworth. Another noteworthy project is her off-screen role as producer of an ABC single-camera sitcom based on the life of Bollywood superstar Madhuri Dixit. PC has already made quite an impact in the world of American television, with Quantico going into its third season, and in January this year, she won her second People's Choice Award for the series. You go girl
Share This Post
