Early in Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ career in Bollywood, the Indian-born actress refunded a film production after abandoning filming within days, due to the “dehumanizing” director on location.
In a recent interview with The Zoe Report, the actress explained that almost two decades ago, as an actress new to the industry, she took money out of her own pocket to retire from a set with a degrading team.
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Chopra Jonas recalled in the interview that she portrayed a character who was undercover and how the anonymous director talked about her and her appearance to other crew members.
“I’m undercover, seducing the guy – that’s obviously what girls do when they’re undercover. But I’m seducing the guy and you have to take a piece of clothing off [at a time]. I wanted to overlap. The filmmaker was like, No, I need to see his underwear. Otherwise, why is anyone coming to see this film?
“He didn’t tell me,” Chopra Jonas clarified. “He told the stylist in front of me. It was such a dehumanizing moment.
Chopra Jonas noted how seriously she takes her craft and how production crews have sometimes downplayed and misinterpreted her strong work ethic. “It was a feeling of, I’m nothing but how I can be used, my art isn’t important, what I contribute isn’t important.”
Hearing the director’s remark indirectly, Chopra Jonas, with the advice of her father, decided to leave the project. After participating in just two days of work, Chopra Jonas held on and pulled money out of her pocket to reimburse the production for the money she had spent. “I just couldn’t watch it every day,” Chopra Jonas said.
Chopra Jonas opened up about her experience, detailing it in her recent 2021 memoir “Unfinished,” “I was ready to become a temptress in the number,” she wrote, according to the Hindustan Times. “The director’s words and tone, however, indicated that he viewed me in a way that I found unacceptable.”
Since the incident, Chopra Jonas has appeared in 80 productions, including her final roles in the spy thriller series, “Citadel” and the romantic comedy “Love Again.”
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