Priyanka Chopra Jonas Is On A Mission To Open Doors For South Asian Women In Film And TV — Deadine Disruptors

deadline.com:

Priyanka Chopra Jonas grew up eyeing a career as an aeronautical engineer, but a detour to pageantry led to a Miss World crown in 2000 and a pivot to an acting career.

She became a star in her native India and has gone on to conquer Hollywood. That may sound like the stuff of fairy tales, but there were certainly challenges along the way—from facing a patriarchal society at home to avoiding what Chopra Jonas calls “jack-in-the-box” typecasting in the studio system.

Now, she’s determined to make things easier for women and South Asian talent following behind her, rewriting the rulebook and busting conventions.Of how her education informed her business decisions, Chopra Jones says, “I’m someone who likes excellence… I like having a sense of control and I think math and physics give you that because you always have to find the right answer… Curiosity helped me navigate unfamiliar waters and land into something which I made my own.” Chopra Jonas took the ethos of being a student into her career, she said, and it has been worth it, in spite of the struggles. “I’ve reached a place where I find immense challenge and complexity and joy and growth in the business that I ended up in.”Chopra Jonas’ Bollywood credits include such hits as Andaaz, Aitraaz, Krrish and Bajirao Mastani among dozens of others.

She is one of the rare Indian-born stars to fully cross over to Hollywood, having spent several years in the ABC thriller Quantico.