Priyanka Chopra has recently shared her perspective on her career choices, stating that Bollywood offered her more opportunities for experimentation and variety compared to Hollywood. In an interview, the actress and producer reflected on her journey, highlighting the differences in her experiences across the two film industries.
Chopra, who won the Miss World 2000 pageant and is one of India's highest-paid actresses, made her Bollywood debut in 2003 with "The Hero: Love Story of a Spy". She quickly rose to prominence, starring in several commercially successful films such as "Andaaz" (2003) and "Mujhse Shaadi Karogi" (2004). Her career in Bollywood saw her take on diverse roles, including a troubled model in "Fashion" (2008), for which she won a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
Transitioning to Hollywood, Chopra starred in the ABC thriller series "Quantico" from 2015 to 2018, marking her as the first South Asian to lead an American network drama series. She also appeared in Hollywood films like "Baywatch" (2017), "The Matrix Resurrections" (2021), and "Heads of State" (2025). Despite her success in Hollywood, Chopra feels her Indian filmography showcases a greater range of roles.
"If you look at my Hindi filmography or Indian film filmography, there's a lot more variety than I have been able to achieve in my international work," Chopra told PTI in a recent interview from Los Angeles. She expressed her hope to create diversity and take on interesting roles in her English language work, similar to her experiences in Bollywood. She believes she is still in the early stages of her Hollywood growth and anticipates more opportunities to come.
Chopra also discussed her approach to balancing her roles as an actor and producer, emphasizing the different mindsets required for each. As an actor, she constantly seeks challenges and enjoys navigating different genres. "I want to be able to see if I can navigate different genres and if I can do action, comedy, drama... I love challenging myself and that is why my acting career has had variety," she explained.
In 2015, Chopra established her production company, Purple Pebble Pictures, with the aim of supporting new filmmakers and telling stories that resonate with her. Her experience as an outsider in the film industry after winning Miss World influenced her decision to back marginalized stories. "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," she said.
One recent project from Purple Pebble Pictures is the documentary "Born Hungry," which tells the story of Sash Simpson, an abandoned child from Chennai who became a top chef. Chopra was moved by Simpson's story and wanted to amplify it through her production company.
Looking ahead, Chopra is set to appear in Farhan Akhtar's "Jee Le Zaraa," a Bollywood road trip film co-starring Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt. The film, which was delayed due to scheduling conflicts, is now back on track.
Chopra acknowledged that her Hollywood journey has been full of "trials and errors" and that she has learned from her mistakes. She noted the lack of examples of Indian actors navigating international waters before her, which meant she had to learn through experience. Despite the challenges, Chopra embraces the learning process and is excited about future opportunities to work with filmmakers from around the world.
