Parineeti Chopra can talk nineteen-to-the dozen about any topic on earth. And most of her talk is unfiltered. Though she says she has learnt to mind her ps and qs now. But it’s her frankness, her candid wit that makes her so interesting. She’s like that when it comes to her roles as well. On-screen too, her characters tend to come off as real. She puts so much conviction in her
portrayals that one can’t help but connect with them. They appear as real people, as raw flesh and blood creatures. Like everyone else, Parineeti too has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic but she refuses to let the fear and the anxiety get to her. She’s aware of what’s happening around her and isn’t immune to the sufferings of the common man. Excerpts from a talkathon held over a video call, where she airs her views about the pandemic, her career, love and life in general...
How many of your films are ready to release?
Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar was ready to release, and then this lockdown happened. The Girl On The Train is not ready yet, they were in the process of editing and locking the final cut. Same with Saina (Saina Nehwal’s biopic). Both these films are so important to me that I can bet my life on them. I’ve worked harder on them compared to any other film before. We are still traditional and feel OTT is a compromised release. But how long can they wait? Because ultimately this is a business. I’m not going to sit in a theatre and watch a film, so how can I expect the audience to come in right now. Besides, no one has an active source of income. Let’s see what happens.
No one has been in such a situation before...
Even when the lockdown wasn’t officially announced, I remember screaming at my parents saying, “You guys are not understanding what this virus is? Why can’t you sit at home?” My dad and mom were refusing to understand what the big deal was. They were like, “Why should we lock ourselves in our house? This is something that is happening in other countries.” Five days later their thinking completely changed. My dad said that this reminded him of wartime. This lockdown doesn’t seem to be ending.
Can you imagine what the farmers and daily wage workers must be going through?
I come from Ambala. Where we don’t have A/C rooms with 24x7 electricity, water, gas and wi-fi. I cannot tell you what the situation is like in and around Ambala. People are literally bankrupt because they work on daily wages. We should be thankful that we have enough money in our bank accounts to get through the next six months. It’s eating into our savings but at least we are not fighting for survival. I hate people who are putting up selfies and saying, “I’m bored. Don’t know what to do.” I loved Farah Khan’s video in which she asked actors to stop posting workout videos. I live alone, my staff is gone and I’m doing all the housework myself. I’m not complaining.
Do you have any process as an actor?
I was blindly doing films. I realised who I was as an actress while doing The Girl On The Train - Day one, scene one, shot one. I entered the set and my director (Ribhu Dasgupta) said, “Achcha yeh sab jo tum karti aa rahi ho… yeh sab rubbish hai. Abhi hum log kaam shuru kartein hain” (Whatever you’ve done upto now is rubbish. Now we shall start work). He said it so bluntly, and I was like, “What? Are you trying to say I’ve not done any good work in my life?” He’s like, “Nahin, Nahin, sab achcha hai. Chalo shooting kartein hain (No, no everything is good. Let’s start shooting.)” He was like no bakwaas just get to work and I loved that. I’m used to the teacher-student relationship. Ribhu became my teacher and my mentor. I was so focused, for two months I forgot my family, my friends… I didn’t even call anyone. The Girl On The Train and Saina, whatever their fate is, I will not regret anything because they’ve sucked everything out of me, in terms of creativity This is the first time I’ve had an awakening. Now, I feel like I will enjoy it more.
It’s been two years since your cousin Priyanka Chopra’s marriage. Is that the kind of marriage you would like to have someday?
I can definitely say that she has lucked out with the best man possible. Nickster (Nick Jonas) is like the perfect guy. He understands her so well, he’s successful, he’s very family-oriented, he’s honest and simple and he really cares. If you had to make a list of “These are the qualities I would like in my man” - then that person is literally Nick. I got to know Nick around six-eight months before the wedding. I was like, “Mimi didi (Priyanka) this is literally the happiest I’ve seen you. This is the best man I’ve ever met and he’s the nicest guy.” I would love to have a guy who understands me. It doesn’t have to be someone from the film or the entertainment industry. Sometimes they have the worst baggage...
Do actors have a lot of baggage...
I cannot have a romantic relationship with another human being who has the same problems as me. I’m that girl who wants to come home and be in her night suit, just watch TV, be lazy and do nothing. I’ve had three long relationships. Now that I’m 31, I really wish I’d spent more time being single. I really think it’s the best way to improve yourself, it’s the best way to have fun. In light of the things that have happened in the last three-four months, I’m even more convinced that life is too fickle. If I want to sleep all day, I will sleep all day. If I want to travel, I’ll travel. If I want to work, I’ll work. I’m solo in this journey of life and I really need to live it.
You aren’t tired of being single?
The only truth in our lives is that we’re all going to go one day. Please do everything you want to do. You will regret it if you’re 85 years old and you didn’t travel to that place you wanted to see or you didn’t say something to that person or you didn’t make amends with someone. You should eat what you want to eat, you should do what you want to do, you want to love someone then love someone…just live your own f***ing life.
What kind of a girlfriend are you?
I’ve had only three relationships. So hypothetically if you had to interview those three people, they would tell you that I was never the problem. One of them was a very long relationship and we broke up, I was heartbroken for nine months. Like a character from a film, I’ve laid down on the ground and cried and not eaten food for three days at a stretch.
This is after you joined the movies?
Yes. I’m a late bloomer in all departments. I was so heartbroken that I felt I should just leave this world -- you know those kinds of vibes. And today, so many years later, I laugh at it. You realise that you grow every single day. And five years later, you feel so embarrassed about what you did.
The only truth in our lives is that we’re all going to go one day. Please do everything you want to do. You will regret it if you’re 85 years old and you didn’t travel to that place you wanted to see or you didn’t say something to that person or you didn’t make amends with someone. You should eat what you want to eat, you should do what you want to do, you want to love someone then love someone…just live your own f***ing life.
What kind of a girlfriend are you?
I’ve had only three relationships. So hypothetically if you had to interview those three people, they would tell you that I was never the problem. One of them was a very long relationship and we broke up, I was heartbroken for nine months. Like a character from a film, I’ve laid down on the ground and cried and not eaten food for three days at a stretch.
This is after you joined the movies?
Yes. I’m a late bloomer in all departments. I was so heartbroken that I felt I should just leave this world -- you know those kinds of vibes. And today, so many years later, I laugh at it. You realise that you grow every single day. And five years later, you feel so embarrassed about what you did.
Tell us one incident that you’re most embarrassed about?
I used to treat interviews like bedroom conversations. Also, I have this huge urge to make people laugh all the time. Everything I say has to be little chatpata. So, sometimes some journos would paste it as a headline. This led to so many problems with my friends and family. They’ve called me up at 6 am and asked, “There’s this news article… how dare you say this about me?” I was just putting out fires for the first three years in the industry with things that I’d said.
We lost Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan recently. Did you interact with them or know them well?
It took me three full days to come back to normal after I heard the news. I knew Rishi ji a little more than I knew Irrfan because I’d done Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) with him. When I got my National Award, he was sitting right in front of me and was the first to congratulate me. We were in the hotel while Sushant (Singh Rajput) and Vaani (Kapoor) were shooting. We were sitting by the pool in the evening and I remember I got a call from Karan (Johar) saying, “Mubarak ho! Aapko National Award mila hai.” (Congratulations! You’ve won the National Award)I put down the phone and immediately told Rishi ji. I was gobsmacked when
I heard about Irrfan.I couldn’t believe it because I felt he had so much more to give. It makes you realise how fickle this life is.
I used to treat interviews like bedroom conversations. Also, I have this huge urge to make people laugh all the time. Everything I say has to be little chatpata. So, sometimes some journos would paste it as a headline. This led to so many problems with my friends and family. They’ve called me up at 6 am and asked, “There’s this news article… how dare you say this about me?” I was just putting out fires for the first three years in the industry with things that I’d said.
We lost Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan recently. Did you interact with them or know them well?
It took me three full days to come back to normal after I heard the news. I knew Rishi ji a little more than I knew Irrfan because I’d done Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) with him. When I got my National Award, he was sitting right in front of me and was the first to congratulate me. We were in the hotel while Sushant (Singh Rajput) and Vaani (Kapoor) were shooting. We were sitting by the pool in the evening and I remember I got a call from Karan (Johar) saying, “Mubarak ho! Aapko National Award mila hai.” (Congratulations! You’ve won the National Award)I put down the phone and immediately told Rishi ji. I was gobsmacked when
I heard about Irrfan.I couldn’t believe it because I felt he had so much more to give. It makes you realise how fickle this life is.
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