Priyanka Chopra has already proven her mettle as an actor and singer but she is now set to venture into production with the aim of promoting fresh talent, reported the Hindustan Times. The actor, who made her Bollywood debut with the film Andaaz, lamented that when she stepped foot in the industry, she did not have anyone to guide her, making her journey “very lonely and scary”.
She is set to begin work on her maiden production, a film titled Madamji. She will also star as the main lead in the movie, which will be directed by the Fashion director, Madhur Bhandarkar. The film is expected to begin shooting towards the end of November. Describing her decision to produce Madamji as a ‘spontaneous’ one, she said, “Madhur came to me with the film. I felt that if I do a film with Madhur, with whom I have a great working relationship and if I produce it, it will give me a good foothold in film production.”
Referring to herself as a ‘baby producer’, she initially had no plans of producing films. But now, she wants to “make small movies and introduce new talent.” Priyanka, who has managed to make a smooth transition from bagging the title of Miss World in 2000 to an award-winning actor, said her desire to pursue production stemmed from her own experiences in the film industry.
“When I came into the film industry, I had no one to hold my finger, show me the way and say, ‘This is the right direction’. I never had a mentor and never even had friends who knew anything about films,” she said. “For me, it was a lonely and scary journey and somewhere, I wanted to make a production house, which is a place to introduce new talent, including writers, directors, musicians and actors,” she added.
Speaking about her film choices and host of talents, she said, “Whatever comes my way, I just give it my best. I didn’t know I would become a musician, I didn’t even know I wanted to become an actor. I wanted to be an engineer.”
Priyanka, who will next be seen in the films Dil Dhadakne Do and Bajirao Mastani, shared why she chose the two polarised projects. “I always pick interesting projects. It’s a conscious decision for me because I don’t like to repeat myself. I get bored of doing the same thing. As a person, I like variety and like things to keep moving,” she stated.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2014.
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