Priyanka Chopra Reveals When Hollywood Used To Call Her ‘Shapra’; Says ‘If You Can Say Oprah, You Can Say Chopra’
While speaking to Kabir Bedi, Priyanka Chopra revealed how Hollywood used to call her Shapra instead of Chopra but she also made it a point to correct them
Global star Priyanka Chopra who started conquering the Hollywood industry with her hit series Quantico is currently one of the most popular actors in the West. Since then, she has starred in movies like Isn’t It Romantic, We’re The Heroes, Baywatch and more. However, she recently happened to share an anecdote from her initial days in Hollywood with actor Kabir Bedi while launching Bedi's memoir launch his upcoming memoir, Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Journey of an Actor. During the interview, Chopra revealed how Hollywood used to call her Shapra instead of Chopra but she also made it a point to correct them.
It so happened, Kabir Bedi was talking about finding roles in Hollywood as an Indian actor. He told that back then, Hollywood just wasn't writing roles for Indian, or Asians in general which was a bit difficult for Kabir. Giving an example, Bedi said actor Ben Kingsley had to change his name from Krishna Bhanji to Ben Kingsley to be taken seriously and get roles. Priyanka interjected and shared her story by saying, "But let me tell you. This is a couple of decades later when I decided to go and seek work in America. I didn't have to change my name but I did have to teach people how to say my name. Everybody would be like Priyanka 'Shapra-Shapra'. I said it is not Shapra. If you can say Oprah, you can say Chopra. It's not that difficult,” she was quoted saying by BollywoodHungama.
She added, "What I had to do as well--so funny that you are saying you had to do at that time-- was I had to be ethnically ambiguous to a certain extent, to be able to get mainstream roles. In Quantico, I played a half-Indian, half-American. All my bigger work when I initially joined Hollywood, I could not step out there with being Indian, because it was too alien for Hollywood."
Priyanka Chopra
"I don't think, for a very long time, they understood casting an Indian person in a mainstream role in a leading part. So even now, it was extremely hard," she continued. ALSO READ: Priyanka Chopra REACTS As The White Tiger Director Ramin Bahrani Faces Racist Taunts In US: ‘Isn’t America A Melting Pot Of People From All Backgrounds?’
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