Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Breaking into Bollywood: “Doors Didn’t Open Easily for Outsiders”
Reflecting on her early challenges, Priyanka reveals how exclusion in the Hindi film industry inspired her to launch Purple Pebble Pictures — a platform to uplift emerging voices and regional storytellers.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has become a global name today, but her journey in Bollywood wasn’t as smooth as it may seem. At a recent event, the actor opened up about the struggles she faced while trying to establish herself in an industry that, according to her, was “extremely closed off” to newcomers without film family connections.
The actor recalled that her entry into entertainment began after she won the Miss World pageant in 2000, which pushed her toward films. By 2002, she had started working in both Hindi and Tamil cinema. However, she admitted that the environment back then was dominated by “generational actors, directors, and producers,” leaving little space for outsiders. “When you want to break into the industry and get cast, it wasn’t the easiest, but somehow I broke through. I was ambitious, persistent, and I didn’t like failing,” she shared.
Priyanka explained that these early struggles became the driving force behind launching her own production company, Purple Pebble Pictures, in 2015. “It was my way of creating the space I never had,” she said. The aim was to give independent filmmakers, writers, and regional storytellers opportunities they might not get otherwise. “I wanted to be the shoulder for entertainers around the world to get the limelight they deserve,” she added.
Purple Pebble Pictures began with the 2016 Bhojpuri film Bam Bam Bol Raha Hai Kashi and quickly made an impact with Ventilator (2016), which won three National Film Awards. Priyanka later produced Pahuna: The Little Visitors (2018) and Paani (2019), the latter winning the National Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation. Over the years, the company has backed projects across languages including Marathi, Punjabi, Assamese, Nepali, and even English. She also co-produced and acted in The Sky Is Pink (2019) and The White Tiger (2021).
In 2023, her mother and business partner, Dr. Madhu Chopra, revealed that Purple Pebble Pictures had shifted its base to the United States, in line with Priyanka’s growing global career.
On the work front, Priyanka has wrapped filming for the second season of Prime Video’s spy thriller Citadel. She will also be seen in Frank E. Flowers’ action drama The Bluff. Closer to home, she is set to return to Indian cinema with SS Rajamouli’s highly anticipated project SSMB 29, starring alongside Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran. The film, described as a large-scale action-adventure, is currently in production.
