When Priyanka Chopra talks about her early years in Bollywood, she often keeps it real. The actress once again went back to that phase of life when she walked into the film industry without any roadmap. This time, the actor opened up about how those outsider experiences quietly shaped the way she works as a producer today.
The star's latest project as a producer, Born Hungry, now streaming on JioHotstar, is a documentary on celebrity chef Sash Simpson. The project follows his journey from being abandoned on the streets of India to being adopted in Canada, and eventually becoming a well-known chef. Before this, Priyanka's company backed titles like Paani and Ventilator – both focused on strong themes rather than mainstream formulas.
In a chat with PTI, she recalled how isolated she felt in her initial years as an outsider in the industry.
Priyanka Chopra added, “I didn't know why I was gravitating towards filmmakers and stories that were maybe marginalised or told that they're not what is expected... As I'm talking about it, I think it does come from the fact that when I joined the industry, I didn't have it. I was trying to navigate this crazy movie industry by myself with my parents, who were doctors and who also had no idea about the business. And I kind of felt really lost.”
That feeling of being “lost” is what she says taught her empathy – something that shows up in the kinds of films she chooses to produce today.
Furthermore, Priyanka Chopra explained why her choices lean in this direction.
She said, “As a producer, I'm empathetic, and our ethos is a lot around wanting to give opportunities to newer filmmakers or filmmakers that want to achieve something that they haven't been able to or are kind of hitting a wall somewhere. My production side kind of comes from what personally moves me.”
Priyanka has been producing films under her banner Purple Pebble Pictures for a few years now, but she has never chased the typical commercial lineup. Instead, she has moved toward indie and documentary-style storytelling.
The star also shared that backing non-mainstream stories came naturally to her, even before she fully understood why.
Meanwhile, Priyanka Chopra is also gearing up for her next big acting project in India. She will return to Indian cinema with SS Rajamouli's Varanasi. The movie, featuring Mahesh Babu as the male lead, is expected to hit cinema screens in 2027.
