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Home , Alex Parrish, Johanna Braddy, Koffee with Karan, Priyanka Chopra, Quantico (season 1), Quantico (season 2)

THE ANATOMY OF SUCCESS to box office powerhouse, has always made winning her business. Now, with her Hollywood debut, her transcontinental takeover seems complete. AARTI VIRANI meets the trailblazing actor who is wooing audiences from to Photographed by Chris craymer PStyled by priyanka kapadia 228 C Cashmere pullover, cashmere trousers, C bangles; all Chanel constellation of Hollywood stars sparkled across Los Angeles’s storied Dolby Theatre, mak- ing their way to the this February, but my eyes Astayed glued to a beguiling Indian im- port as she sailed into view. In her sheer ivory Zuhair Murad gown and 50-carat diamonds, a winning combo that’s earned her a coveted spot on various best-dressed lists, actor Pri- yanka Chopra, slated to present an award that evening, fielded a dizzying range of red-carpet queries. On several occasions, she made sure to mention that she’d work the after-party circuit, then hop on a red-eye to Miami, where her latest Hollywood project, a 2017 reboot, beckoned. She re- mained poised and unflappable, punc- tuating all her answers with an incan- descent smile—surely, a learning from her Miss World days—and a healthy dash of self-deprecation. “I just ’t want to screw up anyone’s name, you know?” she told E! News’s Ryan Sea- crest, who appeared visibly disarmed by that admission. >

230 On Priyanka: Lace dress, jacket; both Alexander McQueen. Crystal star brooch, Erickson Beamon. Black star brooch, circle crystal brooch; both Reine Rosalie at Boutique Lyla. Ring, Uncommon Matters. Peep-toe booties, Giuseppe Zanotti Design. On Karina: Jumper, Karen Walker. Leggings, American Apparel. Necklace, Lanvin. Sandals, Rupert Sanderson Sequinned dress, Lanvin. Crystal star brooch, Erickson Beamon. Black star brooch, Reine Rosalie at Boutique Lyla “I’m an education portal for those who don’t know what is. i help people understand our movies—no, we don’t just randomly break into song and dance, that’s an important part of our storytelling”

I was catapulted back to a Manhat- a National Film Award for Best Ac- trajectory reads like an overachiever’s tan press conference, circa September tress and meatier subsequent roles. playbook. While she may passionately 2015. I’d sat just a few feet away from Then she veered West in 2012, deny the existence of a grand future Chopra (who was in town to promote recording a track with Black Eyed vision, Chopra is never without an im- her then brand-new American televi- Peas singer will.i.am and subsequently mediate game plan. The latest in her sion show, ) and was basking producing an earworm of a single, ‘Ex- growing list of accolades are a 2015 in the actor’s second-hand stardust otic’, joining forces with international and a People’s Choice while the voice recorder in my hands rapper . While the tunes them- award she scored in the US for her de- trembled slightly. As she hopscotched selves were lukewarm at best, they but on Quantico, the ultimate vote of between Hindi and English, confessing spurred bigger things, including a sul- confidence from a stateside audience. a deep love for Burger King Whoppers try stint in a ad campaign and “ABC pushed a totally unknown face while recapping a childhood that in- the lead role in Quantico, a terrorism- to mainstream America,” says Aseem cluded shuttling across various cities themed mystery that made her the Chhabra, a -based film in India (her parents were military first Indian actor to bag top billing in critic and programmer for the New doctors) in addition to a four-year stay an American television drama when it York Indian Film Festival. He is in the US as a teen, it occurred to me premiered on ABC last September. alluding to the publicity blitzkrieg the that the powerhouse and I, a freshly- “There is no strategy,” insists the network launched last fall. Chopra’s minted Indian-American who had ar- 33-year-old, who carved out the time face was splattered on buses and bill- rived by way of Japan, shared an un- for an early-morning phone call from boards across major American cities, likely trait: we were both unable to Montreal, Canada, where she was log- ensuring no one’s morning commute, neatly gift-wrap our histories and ging superhuman hours shooting for including mine, was devoid of a PC hometowns when prodded about Quantico. Chopra plays , a sighting. “It’s pretty remarkable for where we were “really” from, comfort- fearless Indian-American FBI recruit them to show so much faith in her and ably residing outside the traditional framed for executing the deadliest at- invest in her that way,” Chhabra adds. conventions of nationality. It’s partly tack on New York City since 9/11. It’s why I’ve rooted for her since. easy to see how that twisty role, the The American Dream first part Chopra ever had to formally “I’m an education portal for those who “There is no strategy” audition for, served as the unofficial don’t know what India is,” Chopra ad- Her résumé mirrors a steady build-up try-out to the aforementioned Bay- mits, only half-joking. “I help people to a crescendo—with the occasional watch remake, where she’ll play a bad- understand our movies—no, we don’t wrong note, of course. After all, it’s die, single-handedly taking on an elite just randomly break into song and hard to forget that Chopra’s fledgling crew of lifeguards, starring heavy-hit- dance, that’s an important part of our career, the obvious next ters like aka The storytelling.” Thankfully, there’s a step for Miss World 2000, consisted of Rock and . “Let me show you palpable sense of camaraderie that a clutch of bland rom-coms. It was how slow-motion running is done, Hol- streams through Quantico’s multicul- only in 2008, when she snagged the lywood!” she quips with a throaty gig- tural ensemble, evident in the nick- lead in ’s Fash- gle. For a moment, I’m unsure of names they’ve assigned each other— ion, a film that captured the murky where her cinematic loyalty lies before Chopra’s is “Priyonccupied” for her warts-and-all underbelly of glamour, reminding myself that rather than incessant multitasking. “Out of any of that she leapt towards the big leagues. claiming just Hollywood or Bollywood, us, [Chopra’s] the most displaced, the At a time when female-centric sto- she’s on a trailblazing mission to furthest away from home,” says rylines were considered the ultimate embrace both. , her roommate on the swan songs in testosterone-riddled Though Chopra is quick to summa- show. “But she’s so endearing. She Bollywood, Chopra’s uninhibited per- rise a 16-year entertainment career helps people even when she doesn’t formance as a small-town beauty with through a few fortune-cookie-flavoured have to, whether it’s offering rides to supermodel ambitions swivelled heads phrases—“when man proposes, God airports or giving advice on how to be a for its stark vulnerability, resulting in disposes,” she says—her professional strong woman.” >

233 On Priyanka: Denim cut-out blouse, Ashish. Bodysuit, American Apparel. Studded leather platform pumps, Gucci. Rings, both Uncommon Matters. On Ann-Sophie Mongeau, Karina, Kathy: Turtleneck blouse, pleated skirt; both American Apparel. Sneakers, Converse 235 Dress, jacket; both Prada. Briefs, La Perla. Bra, Marks & Spencer. ‘Moon And Star’ leather sandals, Aquazzura. Earrings, Karen Walker

Hair: Julie Saint-Laurent/ Next Canada using Label.m (Priyanka); Nisha Gulati/Folio Montreal (cheerleaders) Make-up: Hung Vanngo/The Wall Group (Priyanka); Alexandre Deslauriers/ Folio Montreal (cheerleaders) Models: Karina Savoie/Dulcedo Management; Ann-Sophie Mongeau/Agence France Dionne; Kathy Maguire Photographer’s agency: Sarah Laird and Good Company Photographer’s assistants: Dong Loga; Pablo Calderón-Santiago Assistant stylist: Rima Chahine Hair assistant: Alexandra Muñoz Digital imaging: Alex Dow Production: Eloi Beauchamp, Karyne Bond, Nicolas Chabot/l’Éloi; Julia Ferrier; Divya Jagwani “I feel the most local on a flight, where no one can get in touch with me, though having a nomadic life wasn’t always my cup of tea”

Chopra’s careful not to gloss over responsible for a cavalcade of recent time for female actors in [Hindi cine- the challenges that come with the shows—Scandal, How To Get Away ma],” she says. “But it took a big fight groundbreaking role: “People think With Murder, and Fresh Off The Boat, from performers like Vidya [Balan] I’m just waltzing on set and practising to name a few—that reflect the demo- and Kangana [Ranaut], women who an American accent but it’s so much graphic changes sweeping America. have taken cinema forward and ena- more than that,” she asserts. “I’m It’s the sort of dynamic television that bled audiences to have faith in the fact embodying someone whose spirit is serves as the perfect antidote to the so- that whether a story is told by a male American and it’s all very out of my cial media maelstrom surrounding this or female, ultimately, just watch it be- comfort zone.” year’s Academy Awards, which were cause it’s a good story.” Her current comfort zone is difficult accused of being woefully tone-deaf in Chopra’s willingness to credit her to pinpoint, even for Chopra, though the race department. Chopra, in all her peers makes her an anomaly in an in- she jovially claims it features high alti- cosmopolitan glory, couldn’t have dustry that is somewhat stingy with its tudes. “I feel the most local on a flight, planned her US entrance at a more ap- praise. But maybe shaking up conven- where no one can get in touch with me, propriate time. tion is one of the perks of being a per- though having a nomadic life wasn’t But Chopra’s trepidation surround- ennial outsider. It’s hard to imagine always my cup of tea,” she says, ing her great American experiment any of her Bollywood contemporaries describing the draining 17-hour haul isn’t completely unwarranted. At 12, so at ease on American primetime— between Montreal and Mumbai. It’s after spending much of her young life who can forget her breezy appearance the inevitable price she pays for being in various north Indian cities, she tried on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where she a transcontinental sensation. The sec- her luck at a local high school while regaled the audience by revealing her ond half of Quantico’s first season visiting cousins in Iowa. To hear her childhood crush on rapper Tupac premiered on March 6, while Jai Gan- recap her initial tryst with the US is Shakur? On a recent episode of The gaajal, director ’s high- reminiscent of some of the more Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, voltage crime drama, hit theatres on cringe-worthy scenes from the teen she challenged the host to a chicken March 4. “If Priyanka’s decided she flick Mean Girls: navigating impossi- wing-eating contest, winning all too wants something, she will do all the ble-to-befriend cliques, scarfing down gracefully. Then again, she’s equally at possible things to get it—within 15 lunch solo in a bathroom stall and en- home on , battling it minutes of my narrating the Jai Gan- during juvenile taunts like “brownie” out with (also soon gaajal script to her, she declared no and “curry.” I can’t help but wish that to make her American movie debut) one else could play [the lead role],” Jha her high school bullies are gawking, for that notorious gift hamper. recently said in an interview. For the slack-jawed and sheepish when Chopra Chopra’s blueprint for global domi- film, which features her as the first fe- dominates their TV screens today— nation isn’t an easy one to decipher. male police superintendent in a cor- the ultimate revenge fantasy—gracing As far as I can tell, its identifying ruption-laced district in , Chopra red carpets and late-night talk shows. marks include an inimitable hustle, allotted a whirlwind 30 days before jet- When our conversation shifts to- the constant need to shatter stereo- ting back to Canada. wards the Indian cinema scene—after types and a borderline obsession with “I was concerned about [Quantico] Chopra’s award-winning portrayal of uncharted territory. “For me, it’s because there hasn’t been a precedent in ’s about surpassing what I’ve done be- for this—I’d never seen Indian actors 18th-century warrior romance, Ba- fore—how do I become bigger and bet- in the West leading television shows,” jirao Mastani (2015), there are faint ter?” she divulges as her voice trails, explains Chopra. Quantico isn’t ABC’s rumours about her taking on his next momentarily. “I just put my head only current programme that show- untitled opus alongside — down, keep working and make sure cases a minority lead. The network is she brightens up. “I think it’s a great I’m the best person for the job.” n

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