Priyanka Chopra recalls disturbing casting couch experience

Bollywood A-lister and India’s global icon Priyanka Chopra has once again exposed the dark side of the Indian film industry, recalling a ‘dehumanising’ casting couch experience, when she was just 19.

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who was crowned Miss World in 2000, at the age of 18, before making her Bollywood debut two years later, recalled an incident from more than two decades ago, when a director made an inappropriate and disturbing demand, leading her to eventually walk away from the project.

Chopra revealed that the incident occurred when she went to discuss her project’s wardrobe with the director and he made a disgusting comment on his face. “I was standing right next to him when he picked up the phone and said, ‘People will come to the movies to watch her when she shows her panties. It needs to be really short so that I can see her panties. Those sitting in the front should be able to see her panties,'” she recalled.

“And he said it four times. It wasn’t even pretty in Hindi; it was worse,” shared the ‘Citadel’ actor.

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“I told my mom, ‘I can’t look at his face. If that’s what he thinks of me, if that’s how small I am, there’s no space for growth,'” Chopra remembered, adding that she eventually left the project.

“Whatever I decide to be will be my choice. How I want to be perceived will be my choice. Perception is reality, and my perception is going to be my identity,” she emphasized to conclude.

On the work front, Chopra is reportedly back in India for her much-awaited comeback project, a Telugu language film, by acclaimed filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, co-starring South superstar Mahesh Babu.