Priyanka Chopra Was ‘Unsure’ About Miss India Pageant; Madhu Chopra Recalls ‘Ghar Mein Bawaal…’

Priyanka Chopra’s journey in showbiz has been an inspiration. The actress started her career by entering a beauty pageant back in 2000, then stepped into Bollywood to deliver films that were widely loved and appreciated. She has now become a global icon with multiple Hollywood titles to her credit apart from her philanthropic deeds.

The actress, who’s currently in Mumbai to promote her upcoming show Citadel with Richard Madden, earlier shared in an interview about being “pushed into a cornered” in Bollywood and how she battled against all odds in the industry prior stepping into the Hollywood. Now in a new interview, Priyanka’s mom Dr Madhu Chopra opened up about the time the actress had qualified for the Miss India pageant, and was unsure whether she should go ahead with it, leaving her studies.

In a recent interview with Supriya Paul for Phir Ziddi Hi Sahi, Madhu recollected the time when her daughter Priyanka was in doubt for entering the Miss India pageant. She said, “Priyanka ko Miss India mein jaana tha, toh ghar mein hamara bawaal ho gaya. Ki yeh padhne mein itni achchi hain, why do you want to take her out off school, distractions kyu daal rhi ho iske mind mein? Toh maine bithaya, Priyanka bhi gabhra gayi ki main select toh ho gayi, toh she also was nervous… she said, “Mom, I don’t think I will be able to do that.” Hum usko bithaye or bole, beta this is an opportunity very few girls get. It’s an opportunity. You want to grab it? Do something about it? Karlo. Warna wapis school to jana hi hai, woh kahi nahi gaya, hum log ghar pe hi hai. Tum school jaogi hi jaogi. But ye opportunity agar pass kar jao, nikal do, toh you never know if it will ever come back again (Priyanka wanted to go for Miss India, which ignited a lot of drama in our house. That she is so good in studies, why are you distracting her? Even Priyanka was in doubts, so I sat her down and told her to give it a shot, school is always there to return back to. But this opportunity might not come again).”

She also added about boosting Priyanka’s morale. “Priyanka ko main ek hi phrase bolti thi, tum apne aap ko chavanni manogi, chavanni jaise behave karogi, toh duniya tumhe chavanni jaise treat karegi, apne aap ko rupaiya samjho, bada samjho, rupaiya jaisa behave karo… be proud. Toh duniya tumhe… perception ki baat hai.” (I always said this one line to her that if you consider yourself to be a quarter of a rupee then the world will consider you the same. So become a rupee, behave like a rupee and the world will follow.)”

Back in 2000, Priyanka became the runner-up in Miss India, then she was crowned Miss World in the same year. She was 18-year-old. Post which she made her Bollywood film debut with The Hero: Love Story Of A Spy, co-starring Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta.