Priyanka Chopra Calls Bollywood ‘Closed Off’ To Outsiders, Says ‘Wasn’t The Easiest’ To Get Films
By Kashvi Raj Singh,News18
Copyright news18
Priyanka Chopra attended an event recently where she opened up about why she started her production house, Purple Pebble Pictures. She said that when she came to Bollywood, she realised that the industry was ‘closed off’ to ‘outsiders’ who didn’t come from film families. She wanted to create a production house that would give a voice to artists who would not be heard otherwise.
Priyanka Chopra said, “I won a beauty pageant in the year 2000, and that kick-started me into the entertainment industry and catapulted me into it. Thus, I started working in Indian movies, particularly in Hindi and Tamil… This was in 2002. But Bollywood is kind of… was, at least, extremely closed off to people coming from outside.”
She said, “There are generational actors, directors, and producers. So when you want to break into the industry and get cast, it wasn’t the easiest. But somehow I broke through. I was ambitious. I didn’t like failing, so I was persistent and kept at it.”
“I made it somehow. And when I did, Purple Pebble Pictures was my way of creating that space that I never had. I wanted to work and provide the industry with filmmakers who, maybe, didn’t have access, or writers who wouldn’t get a big-budget movie,” she added.
“I wanted to be the shoulder for entertainers around the world to be able to get the limelight that they want. I’ve been very proud of the films that we’ve been associated with and produced over time. They’ve been wonderfully received, and we have given them the limelight that they deserved,” the actor explained.
This is not the first time that Priyanka has levelled accusations against Bollywood. In an earlier interview, Priyanka opened up about taking a break from Bollywood after people pushed her into a corner. She also shared that she was tired of politics. Talking to Dax Shepard on his podcast Armchair Expert, Priyanka shared, “I was being pushed into a corner in the industry (Bollywood). I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, I am not good at playing that game, so I kind of was tired of the politics, and I said I needed a break.”