Priyanka Chopra recalls struggle as an outsider in Bollywood: ‘Industry is closed off to people coming from outside’

Priyanka Chopra will soon be making her comeback to Indian cinema with SS Rajamouli’s SSMB 29, which also stars Mahesh Babu. She is shooting for the project.

Actor Priyanka Chopra founded her production house Purple Pebble Pictures in 2015, and she admits that her struggle to find her place in Bollywood as an outsider motivated her to go behind the camera. She shared that the industry is "extremely closed off" to people coming from outside.

Priyanka Chopra founded her production house Purple Pebble Pictures in 2015.

Priyanka on being an outsider in Bollywood

Recently, Priyanka attended an event where she recalled her journey in Bollywood as an outsider and what prompted her to establish her own production company. She founded her production house Purple Pebble Pictures in 2015. A video from the same has surfaced on Reddit.

When the host asked Priyanka about her motive to go behind the camera, the actor shared, “I won a beauty pageant in the year 2000 and that sort of kickstarted me into the entertainment industry and catapulted me into it. And I started working in Indian movies, Hindi and Tamil movies in India,... This was in 2002, but the Bollywood industry is kind of… was at least extremely closed off to people coming from outside.”

“There are generational actors, generational directors, generational 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 don't like failing. I was persistent. I 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,” she added.

The actor revealed that she wanted to give a platform to filmmakers and writers who “maybe would not get that big budgeted movie”, and small films that wanted the bigger opportunities.

“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, and have give the limelight that they deserved,” Priyanka shared.

What do we know about Priyanka’s production house

Purple Pebble Pictures kickstarted with Santosh Mishra's 2016 Bhojpuri film Bam Bam Bol Raha Hai Kashi. It was followed by Rajesh Mapuskar's 2016 dramedy Ventilator, which starred Priyanka's What's Your Raashee? director Ashutosh Gowariker in the lead role. The film fetched three National Awards, for direction, editing, and sound mixing.

In 2018, actor-casting director Paakhi Tyrewala made her directorial debut with the Nepali film Pahuna: The Little Visitors, also produced by Priyanka. Her 2019 Marathi production Paani won the National Film Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation. She's also produced films in Punjabi, Assamese, and English. Priyanka starred in two of her co-productions – Shonali Bose's 2019 Bollywood film The Sky Is Pink and Ramin Bahrani's 2020 Netflix India film The White Tiger.

Last year, Priyanka Chopra's mother, Madhu Chopra revealed that her daughter’s production house Purple Pebble Pictures has relocated its operations to the United States.

What’s next for Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka will be next seen in Frank E. Flowers’ action drama film The Bluff, which also stars Karl Urban, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Safia Oakley-Green and Temuera Morrison in key roles. She will also be making her comeback to Indian cinema with SS Rajamouli’s SSMB 29, which also stars Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran in lead roles. The film, which is said to be an action-adventure like Indiana Jones, is currently under production. She has also wrapped the shoot of the second season of Citadel.