Priyanka Chopra has spoken candidly about her early struggles in Bollywood, describing how the industry once felt like a tightly guarded space for insiders. At a recent event, the actor reflected on how her experience as an outsider shaped her journey and inspired her to create opportunities for others.

“I won a beauty pageant in the year 2000, and that kick-started me into the entertainment industry and catapulted me into it,” Priyanka said. She added, “Thus, I started working in Indian movies, particularly in Hindi and Tamil… This was in 2002. But Bollywood is kind of… was, at least, extremely closed off to people coming from outside.”

According to Priyanka, the dominance of “generational actors, directors, and producers” made it difficult for fresh talent to find their footing. “When you want to break into the industry and get cast, it wasn’t the easiest,” she explained. Adding, “But somehow, I broke through. I was ambitious. I didn’t like failing, so I was persistent and kept at it.”

Having overcome those hurdles, Priyanka said she was determined to build a space for storytellers who lacked access to big-budget projects. “I made it somehow. And when I did, it was my way of creating that space that I never had,” she noted. Adding, “I wanted to work and provide the industry with filmmakers who, maybe, didn’t have access, or writers who wouldn’t get a big-budget movie.”

She added, “I wanted to be the shoulder for entertainers around the world to be able to get the limelight that they want. I’ve been very proud of the films that we’ve been associated with and produced over time. They’ve been wonderfully received, and we have given them the limelight that they deserved.”

Priyanka Chopra Jonas has spoken about her struggles before. In a 2023 interview with Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast, she admitted, “I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, I am not good at playing that game, so I kind of was tired of the politics, and I said I needed a break.”