Confident in her abilities and in what she brings to the table, Priyanka Chopra Jonas says she has never walked with a "sense of weakness", right from her first day in Hollywood to now when she is arguably the most bankable Indian name in the world of western showbiz. Priyanka was one of Hindi cinema's highest paid stars when she decided to try her luck in Hollywood more than a decade ago. The opportunities were few, no one knew her, success was hard in coming but her innate belief in herself carried her through those early days. "Even if people didn't know me, it didn't matter. I know what I bring to the table, I know what my value is, so I was never less confident. I may have had fewer opportunities. I may have had less success, but I was always confident in my skill set and my ability to know my job," the 43-year-old told PTI recently. She has come a long way since. Beginning with the series Quantico, where she played the lead as a FBI officer, and moving on to films such as Baywatch, Isn't It Romantic, The Matrix Resurrections and Heads of States. In many of these, most of them actioners, she plays the lead. She tried to break through the Hollywood circles first as a singer. That was not so successful and the star then moved into acting in films and shows. Priyanka, who also played a central role in the show Citadel, said the confidence was always there. Asked about the moment when she felt like she had arrived, not in terms of success but in confidence, she said, "Oh, my first day I arrived in Hollywood. I never walked with a sense of weakness."

 

"I still don't feel like I have arrived. I feel like I have a lot more to do before I feel that. There are some amazing people who have done such brilliant work and I would love to be able to have a body of work that does that." Real success, she said, is having the privilege to both work in a job she loves and still have time for her family. "Most people in life have to work every day, and some people don't even like the jobs that they have, but they have to do it to survive and to support their families. And I think, for me, that is the real win," said the actor, who is married to American singer Nick Jonas. The couple has a daughter, Malti Marie. In 2016, she was asked about what she wanted to be 10 years later. Priyanka said she wanted to have a "legacy". It's 2026 now but the meaning of the word has changed. "Now 10 years later I don't know what the word legacy means anymore. What it meant to my 30-year-old self is completely different from what it means to me," she said. "I want to be able to do work as an artist that pushes me where I surprise not just myself but an audience that has been so loyal to me for almost 25 years, where I can show different parts of me and give as an artist, and at the same time, be able to be present with my family. Now I feel like that would be my answer," she added. Priyanka described herself as a very hard working person who spends a lot of time learning about "any character or any skill". Up next is The Bluff, a period actioner where she plays a pirate on the run. In her view, it is a conscious step towards "bifurcating and diversifying" the canvas of her English language work. "I think The Bluff is a deep dive into culture and history but at the same time it's a really fun, cool pirate movie. It's also drenched in drama, emotion and feelings. So it's like an action drama I would say and being able to explore different genres is really exciting to me, so I was very happy to be doing this movie," she said. She plays Ercell "Bloody Mary" Bodden, a former pirate who is forced to confront her violent past when her old captain returns. The movie also features The Boys star Karl Urban in the role of Connor, Ercell's former captain. The Bluff will premiere on Prime Video on February 25. n