Priyanka Chopra looked like nothing, was dark-skinned and skinny': Smita Jaykar recalls her first impression and transformation into a diva

Indian Express

7 hours ago

Priyanka Chopra shattered ceilings and rose above standard beauty norms, becoming a global name. The actor often came under scrutiny for her dark complexion and skinny physique in the early days of her career. However, she made sure to aim for her higher goal and broke stereotypes at every stage. In a recent interview, veteran actor Smita Jaykar, who worked with Priyanka in the 2004 film Kismat, opened up about her first impression of the actor, and how she proved her wrong.
During a conversation with Filmymantra Media, Smita recalled meeting her for the first time and said, 'I did Priyanka's initial days' film with her, Kismat. She was very thin, skinny, dark. She was introduced to me and Mohan Joshi that she will be playing our daughter. When I saw her, I said, 'Oh My God'. She looked like nothing at that point of time. I thought how do these people come to become a heroine.'
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However, she soon went on to become a global icon and a brilliant actor. 'Cut to, Priyanka Chopra was wow. I thought what has this girl gone and done. She became a diva completely. So, you can't judge somebody and say, 'Yaar, yeh kisko leke aaye ho'. Kuch maaloom nahi kiski kismat kab badal jaaye. What an actress, fab!' the veteran actor said.
In an interview with BBC earlier, Priyanka had revealed that she was subjected to body shaming for her complexion. She said, 'I was called 'black cat', 'dusky'. I mean, what does 'dusky' even mean in a country where we are literally all are brown? I thought I was not pretty enough, I believed that I would have to work a lot harder, even though I thought I was probably a little bit more talented than my fellow actors who were lighter skinned. But I thought that was right because it was so normalised.'
On the professional front, Priyanka Chopra's recent film Heads of State premiered on Amazon Prime Video on July 2. Helmed by Ilya Naishuller, the American action comedy drama also stars Idris Elba, and John Cena in lead roles, along with Jack Quaid, Paddy Considine, Stephen Root, and Carla Gugino in key roles. In the film, Priyanka is playing the role of MI6 agent Noel Bisset, who is on a mission to uncover a global conspiracy. On the other hand, Smita Jaykar's next film is Maa Lapataa. She will also be seen in the web series Romeo season three.