Priyanka Chopra recalls when mother Madhu confronted cab driver: She held his neck

Priyanka Chopra recalled a childhood incident where her mother Madhu Chopra fiercely confronted a cab driver after sensing danger.

Priyanka Chopra recently shared a childhood incident involving her mother, Madhu Chopra, while promoting her upcoming Prime Video film The Bluff. The actor recalled how her mother reacted strongly during a cab ride in Delhi when she sensed danger, drawing comparisons to the fierce character Priyanka now plays on screen.

During a conversation with ANI, Priyanka spoke about being just 11 years old when the incident happened. She and her mother were travelling alone in a cab while staying at a hotel in Delhi when the driver suddenly took a route Madhu did not recognise.

She said, “We were in a cab, I must have been 11 years old. We were staying at a hotel in Delhi. Suddenly, I don’t know, all I saw was my mother holding the throat of the driver. Apparently, he took a turn she didn’t recognise. He said it was a shortcut, but it was just me and my mother alone there. She held his neck from the back and asked him to go back to the main road.”

Priyanka revealed that her mother even slapped the driver and firmly insisted he return to the main road. “She said, I’m with my teenage daughter. I had never seen that side of my mother. After that, I didn’t debate her on anything for four months. I don’t know if my mom would’ve reacted like that if she were alone. Because I was with her, she was shaking when we got back to the hotel,” she added.

The incident resonated with the theme of protection seen in The Bluff, where Priyanka plays Ercell Bodden, a former pirate fighting to safeguard her family after her past catches up with her. The film is directed by Frank E. Flowers and co-written with Joe Ballarini. It also features Karl Urban, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Safia Oakley-Green and Temuera Morrison, and will begin streaming on February 20.

On the work front, Priyanka was last seen in Heads of State. She also has Judgment Day and a cameo in A Very Jonas Christmas lined up. Additionally, she is preparing for her return to Indian cinema with Varanasi, directed by S. S. Rajamouli and co-starring Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran. The film is scheduled for release in theatres on April 7, 2027.