Priyanka Chopra Jonas: I’m not a sensationaliser, I fight my battles quietly

In a one-on-one exclusive, actor-entrepreneur Priyanka Chopra discusses her latest spy series ‘Citadel,’ the building of brand PC as it exists today, her Hollywood-Bollywood work-life balance, and more

Priyanka Chopra Jonas looks radiant as I sit next to her, and ask her if she remembers her very first day as a debutant actor; on the sets of the film Thamizhan in 2002 opposite actor Vijay, years before she established herself as star in Bollywood/ Hollywood and set on the path towards global domination. (Incidentally, her first track as a singer is also from the same film; set to tune by composer D. Imman)

She is thrilled to be asked this. “Oh god, I recall exactly how I was feeling; I just wanted to get through the day! There I was, trying to memorise my Tamil dialogues and learn my dance steps. I’d practice the choreo continuously for three days straight and still struggle, whereas Vijay — who is such an incredible dancer — would come on set, learn the moves for five minutes, and own it.”

Priyanka even remembers the lines to her first song. “ Ullathai killaathae, killi vittu sellaathae…,” she hums jauntily, to the surprise of everyone around. 

On to her latest project then — the spy drama Citadel — in which Priyanka teams up with Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Bodyguard) in a multi-continent-spanning adventure of high stakes, that involves everything from regaining wiped memories to stopping an evil syndicate from establishing a new world order. 

Priyanka and Richard’s off-the-chart chemistry (be it in action or romance) from early footage of the show is making all the right noises, and the two have already waxed eloquent about working with each other. So we ask PC about her other Citadel co-star, the inimitable Stanley Tucci ( The Devil Wears Prada, The Lovely Bones); given that both share a deep love for food and cuisine (Tucci’s travel-food series Searching for Italy is an absolute delight), how was it to share screen space with him?

“I love his work, and I’m such a fan! But unfortunately we didn’t have too many scenes or time together; he’s predominantly in my ear (on the microphone) and never face-to-face. If we do a second season, I really should sit him down and plan this food collaboration. Maybe call him over for an Indian night at Sona... or I’ll go over for an Italian night at his restaurant,” she smiles. (Priyanka Chopra Jonas is a creative consultant at Sona, a trendy Indian restaurant set in Manhattan.)

Citadel is the latest in many recent Hollywood big-budget productions to be headlined by a brown actor, after years of the community lacking representation in English-language features. It does feel like we are on the precipice of a cultural shift finally though; Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hasan Minhaj, Ritu Arya and Kumail Nanjiani, and PC herself are just some of the names headlining popular titles nowadays.