4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 11, 2026 01:25 PM IST
Priyanka Chopra is now widely regarded as a global star. But achieving that title required her to prove herself twice—first when she made her acting debut at the age of 18 opposite Vijay, and later when she left her successful Bollywood career at its peak to start from scratch in Hollywood. While the 43-year-old Priyanka now understands what it truly means to be an actor, her 18-year-old self believed the job was mainly about fame. That perception began to change during the shooting of her first film, Thamizhan, when she witnessed the frenzy surrounding her co-star Vijay.
Speaking on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Priyanka recalled entering films soon after winning Miss World 2000.
Wanted to feel like a demigod like Vijay
“It was a movie called Thamizhan in the Tamil language. I remember the film—I phonetically learned the language. It’s almost impossible to learn a completely new language that quickly. But it was my first exposure to fame through my co-actor. His name is Vijay and he is extremely popular,” she said.
Priyanka remembered how large crowds would gather on set just to catch a glimpse of him. “I remember when he arrived on set, there would be hundreds of people standing there just to watch him. While he was dancing and acting, I was observing everything. It was my first film and I had no idea what happened behind the scenes. I had only seen what we see in movie theatres,” she said.
Reflecting on that moment, Priyanka added, “I remember thinking what a demigod-like feeling that must be. Especially in India, where people love movies and fans are incredibly giving.”
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She admitted that her younger self wanted the same adoration. “My 18-year-old self wanted that for myself. My relationship with the job was very naive because I thought it was about fame. Only after I started working did I realise that fame is just a byproduct of the job—it isn’t the job itself. I have done nearly 70 films between Bollywood and Hollywood.”
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Left Bollywood because don’t like staying in s***
In the same interview, Priyanka also spoke about her decision to step away from Bollywood at the peak of her career. “When I was working in India, I started feeling a little limited. I like using that word because I wanted to see what else was out there,” she said. She explained that representation for Indian actors in Hollywood was extremely limited at the time. “In American pop culture, I had only seen people like Mindy Kaling and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. There were very few Indian female or even male actors working in Hollywood. I wanted to understand why we didn’t have that kind of representation.”
The thought pushed her to explore new opportunities. “It made me think about where I stood and where I should begin. It came from a need to expand and see what the possibilities were. And like I said, I am competitive,” she said.
When asked if she was going through a difficult phase in Bollywood at the time, Priyanka responded candidly. “Nothing is an easy ride. We all have battles we deal with. I’m just someone who doesn’t like staying in the s*** because then you get used to the smell,” she said. “I believe strongly in pivoting. When life gets tough, we have the ability to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, take a moment to grieve and feel the pain—and then pivot. I have done that many times in my career.”
She admitted that there was no clear path for her when she decided to try her luck in Hollywood. “There wasn’t much of a precedent before me. I just gave it a shot. The only thing I knew was that I’m a hard worker and I know my craft. Put me on a set with any filmmaker or co-actor and I’ll stand toe-to-toe. So I went out there and started working.”
