While Priyanka Chopra Jonas is currently juggling two major projects — the American action-comedy Heads of State, where she shares the screen with Idris Elba and John Cena, and the action drama The Bluff — it appears that the global star is finally set to return to her home turf after a six-year hiatus. In a significant update, Priyanka recently revealed that she is close to zeroing in on a new Hindi project.
“Not joking, I meet many filmmakers here, read scripts. I have actively been looking for something I want to do in Hindi. This year was really busy for me. But I have something up my sleeve, I will leave it at that,” Priyanka said during a chat with HT City. Naturally, the next question was whether she was referring to the Farhan Akhtar directorial Jee Le Zaraa. “You will need to speak to Excel (Entertainment, Farhan Akhtar’s production house) about that,” she said, offering no further details.
Touted as a road movie, Jee Le Zaraa has been generating significant buzz since its announcement in 2021, since it features Priyanka, Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhat in the lead roles. Co-written by Zoya Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar and Reema Kagti, with Farhan himself at the helm, the film has faced delays due to difficulties in coordinating the schedules of the three lead actors and the director. Zoya, during an appearance on The Indian Express’ Expresso show earlier this year, confirmed that the film remains in the works and that the delays were due to scheduling conflicts.
Though her home ground misses her, Priyanka remains at the top of her game globally. She recently wrapped up filming for the second season of her Amazon Prime Video spy series Citadel. Reflecting on her ability to navigate different cultures, she credited her teenage years in the United States with making the transition smoother.
“The industry in itself… the process of filmmaking is same everywhere. It’s the cultural differences which make them different industries, else the cameras, the shots, everything is the same. I can’t be rigid in India, expecting it to be Hollywood-like in Bollywood, or vice versa. Be like water, and not rigid. I have always been like that my whole life… keep quiet, listen and find your place. I was thrown into it to figure it out,” she told HT City.
“I have been a public person more than half my life, for 25 years now. I am extremely private. So, the hard part is really to be able to manage expectations or public pressures. I have changed a lot. Being a professional, being able to deal with failure and change… that’s the hardest part. I am not someone who talks about my vulnerabilities or hardships very much. There are some people who do, and I find it very… inspiring. I was raised to be tough and hold yourself together,” she added. Her last Bollywood film was The Sky Is Pink (2019).