Jagmohan Singh Barhok
Priyanka Chopra, the loveliness personified , fifth Miss World from India, was crowned on 30 November 2000 at the Millennium Dome in London, United Kingdom. She was then barely 18 -year-old ,nubile & like a fragrant flower.The pageant had 95 contestants, the highest ever at that time. Interestingly, Lara Dutta, too, had won the ‘Miss Universe’ title ,the same year adding grandeur to the country’s history.
The dusky beauty later proved that she indeed was something unusual. Something unique, if we may say so. The fashion capital of india, as Mumbai is commonly known, extended respectful welcome to her. She made her Bollywood debut with “The hero: Love Story of a Spy”, followed by “Andaaz”, another box office success ( both in 2003) & “Mujhse Shaadi Karogi”(2004) produced by Sajid Nadiadwala starring Salman Khan,Akshay Kumar & Priyanka Chopra.The film revolves round escapades of two youngmen (played by Khan & Kumar) who try to win a femme fatale (Priyanka Chopra) .The film that sparked off her histrionics was “Aitraaz” ( 2004 ) featuring Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor & Amrish Puri in key roles.
The film produced by veteran Subhash Ghai & directed by Abbas Mustan duo (of ‘Baazigar’,’Ajnabee’ ‘Soldier’& ‘Race 2’ fame), portrayed her as a seductress Sonia Kapoor, a sex-starved woman, bent upon seducing her former heart – throb Raj Malhotra ( Akshay Kumar) at any cost. Raj is happily married to Priya Saxena Malhotra (Kareena Kapoor), an advocate by profession. Amrish Puri, who plays Sonia’s husband, is a businessman. Raj Malhotra is one of the directors in his company. Sonia’s role is full of full of verve,vigour & vibrancy. She looked powerful & provocative enough to even humble & humiliate ‘Satan’ hands down. The film had a melodramatic ending. It was also different from the ‘run-of-the-mill’ stuff & naturally,therefore, it was praised enthusiastically and publicly. The film collected 260 million against a budgeted cost of rupee 80 million.
Priyanka Chopra was now full of confidence and worked on her own conditions. Her next two films” Krrish” starring Hrithik Roshan & Rekha was declared a blockbuster, becoming the third highest-grossing film of 2006.It received eight nominations at the 52nd Filmfare Awards winning three .Rekha won Best Supporting Actress Award while the Best Actor Award went to Hrithik Roshan. Farhan Akhtar’s “Don” was another successful film of the actress starring Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka & Kareena Kapoor.
After a brief hiatus, Ms Chopra achieved success in Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Fashion”(2008). Her role won her the National Film Award for Best actress.She played a glamorous journalist in “Dostana” the same year. Priyanka received wider recognition for portraying roles of different kind & magnitude in films like- “Kaminey” (2009),”7 Khoon Maaf” (2011), “Barfi” (2012) “Mary Kom” (2014) & “Bajirao Mastani”,the film which catapulted actor Ranveer Singh into a star. Priyanka starred as Alex Parrish in the ABC thriller series “Quantico” and returned to Hindi cinema to do “The Sky Is Pink” (2019). Priyanka Chopra earlier married Nick Jonas in a lavish three-day celebration in December 2018 and went on to host four more wedding receptions. She also appeared in a number of Hollywood films & shows including “Baywatch” & film “The White Tiger” (2021), also as an executive producer. The film stars Adarsh Gourav, Priyanka Chopra & Rajkumar Rao. Her sister-in-law ,Sophie Turner, is a well known Hollywood actress.
Born 18 July 1982 in Jamshedpur ,India & the winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India’s highest-paid celebrities. Her accolades include two National Film Award and five Filmfare Awards. In 2016, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world, followed by Forbes listing her among the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Priyanka Chopra has never chosen to follow the beaten track. She enjoys the reputation of a trail-blazer.
