Priyanka Chopra Says Casting In Bollywood Should Be “Merit” Based Instead Of “Politics And Drama”
Priyanka Chopra recently opened up about how casting in Bollywood should be a casting director’s job, and internal “politics” shouldn’t affect it.
Recently, Priyanka Chopra Jonas created a stir when she had talked about leaving Bollywood due to “politics”, which forced her to pursue a career in Hollywood. Looks like Priyanka Chopra, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming Amazon Prime Video series ‘Citadel’, is in a mood to shake things up. In a recent interview with The Indian Express, Priyanka Chopra opened up about how casting in Bollywood should be a casting director’s job, and internal “politics” shouldn’t affect it.
Priyanka Chopra opened up about ways to make Bollywood a safe space for outsiders. The actress, who went on to emerge as one of the biggest Bollywood female stars, said change starts with dismantling internal politics which often dictate casting in movies.
Priyanka Chopra told The Indian Express, “I think having conversations around opportunity and merit is important. Now that we are living in the world of streaming, there is so much more. The Hindi film industry has changed so much in the last five to 10 years. You have so many talent – writers, directors, actors that come from outside the industry.”
She added, “When I first started, that was not the case, at all. So I think having conversations around the fact that the workplace should be merit based, that the workplace should be a positive environment, that casting should be a casting director’s job instead of the politics and the drama.”
Priyanka Chopra, who has proved her acting mettle with films like ‘Barfi’, ‘Mary Kom’ and ‘Fashion’, said for the industry to be a safe workspace, opportunities should only rely on “merit”.
She said, “I think having those conversations is really, really important so that there are no camps that actually rule casting and it is done because of merit and because of audiences wanting to watch people. I am so excited to be able to see so many new faces from outside of the film industry and different parts of the country who have come in to mainstream Hindi language entertainment.”
Priyanka Chopra further said, “It gives me such a joy, to be able to see that in my own career. And that happened because my generation of actors fought for it.”
Earlier, speaking with Dax Shepherd on his podcast ‘Armchair Expert’, PeeCee had shared that she was feeling “cornered” in Bollywood and also had some “beef” with people in the industry.
Talking about Priyanka Chopra, she has made her mark in both Bollywood and Hollywood. Before making her Hollywood debut with the 2015 television series ‘Quantico’, the actress tried to showcase her singing talent with songs like ‘In My City’ and ‘Exotic', which also featured American rapper Pitbull.
She has starred in multiple Hollywood projects including ‘The Matrix Resurrections’, ‘Baywatch’, ‘Isn't It Romantic’, ‘A Kid Like Jake’ and ‘We Can Be Heroes’ to name a few.
She will next be seen in the Hollywood film ‘Love Again’ with Sam Heughan, Celine Dion. Nick Jonas has a cameo appearance in the movie.
The actress will also headline Russo Brothers' series ‘Citadel’, which is slated to release on April 28. The upcoming Amazon Prime Video series will also feature Richard Madden.
The actress will also be seen alongside Idris Elba and John Cena in ‘Heads Of State’.
She also has a Bollywood project in the pipeline. Priyanka Chopra will be starring alongside Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif in Farhan Akhtar's ‘Jee Le Zaraa’.
