By Shama Bhagat
We decided to do a Arnab Goswami with Parineeti Chopra by grilling her the same way Rahul Gandhi was. Surprisingly, Parineeti met the direct and incisive barrage of questions with aplomb. Here are excerpts from a no-holds-barred chat with one of the most promising actresses that Bollywood has today.
Her rivalry with Alia Bhatt
The undercurrent of rivalry between the newbies — Alia Bhatt and Parineeti Chopra — came into public eye when the former candidly admitted on the show Koffee With Karan that the only girl in the film industry who makes her insecure is Parineeti.
Parineeti, who made an appearance on the show later, however did not admit to any kind of insecurity where Alia was concerned.
“Alia loves me so much that she keeps praising me,” chirped Pari (that’s her pet name).
Did we note a hint of sarcasm in that statement? So, we persisted with our line and asked her more “specific questions”. Voila! she put on a better show than what RaGa did on ArGo’s show.
“I am not such a big actress,” she quipped, adding, “We (she and Alia) knew each other before becoming actresses. And she has been very sweet to me. I am sure Alia is going to be the biggest star of the future.”
Refusing a film with Salman Khan
Parineeti admits that she has refused a film with Salman Khan. According to reports, she didn’t want to be just a beautiful face on the arms of the macho hero. The actress acknowledges the report, saying that the role was not meaty enough for her.
She then reveals that she has been constantly refusing to work with the older heroes in Bollywood like the Khans and Kumars. She admits that she prefers being seen with heroes her age.
“I refused the offers (with Salman Khan and another prominent Bollywood hero) because the roles were not good enough. I would definitely love to work with Salman Khan provided I get the right script. Many scripts were offered to me but I didn’t accept them as I didn’t have much to do in those films,” explains Pari.
So what is that role that will get her to say ‘yes’ to a film opposite bigger stars? “One should be able to take back home some good memories and good scenes that I can be proud of,” she said.
When I do a certain film I should be able to say I did that scene. I want to be proud of the films I do. I have nothing against those films (where the heroine is just an arm candy to the hero) as they are great films too. When I really feel that I want to have some fun on the sets (instead of putting up some good work), I will sign those films,” adds the actress.
Giving in to the two-piece bikini
Many of her contemporaries, including Alia Bhatt have proudly flaunted a bikini body, one hears that Parineeti too is set to shed weight and finally wear a two-piece in a film. “I will wear a bikini if there is a requirement for it,” announces the actress, only to clarify as quickly. “But not in this film (Hasee Toh Phasee). The story is set in Delhi and I cannot wear a bikini in Lajpat Nagar. At the moment I don’t think I will take that step.”
The bikini topic invariably brings up the topic of her weight. The actress has often been at the receiving end of the glamour world and fashionistas for it. She admits that she used to go into depression whenever she used to look at her in the mirror. In fact, there was a point when she was so overweight that she couldn’t even wear a sleeveless garment! Fortunately she says her earlier films did not require her to look glamourous.
An undated earlier picture of Parineeti when she was a student
An earlier picture of Parineeti with her cousin sister Priyanka“Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl did not required me to look thin, while in Ishaqzaade, I just had to look toned and aggressive. Neither did I have to lose weight for Shuddh Desi Romance. So I never bothered my weight, but I was sick of looking at myself (in the mirror) as I could not even wear a sleeveless garment. Every time I tried new clothes I was worried about the bulges jutting out,” she admits rather candidly.
The actress reveals that she has been on a diet-and-exercise regime and has lost a lot of weight for her role in director Shaad Ali’s Kill Dil. She admits, that her resolve of not going on a diet buckled under the pressures of her job in showbiz.
“I have never gone on a diet earlier. I always believed in working out, but I don’t get any time for a workout regime too, as I am busy shooting back-to-back. The only way to lose weight is to diet. I have a very glamorous look in the film. I am not just losing weight for the film, but I genuinely felt that I should look good and wear better clothes. When I see other actresses looking good, I started telling myself, ‘Why not me?’ I have decided to give dieting a proper and serious shot,” says Parineeti with endearing candour.
Losing out all the awards to Deepika Padukone
Inspite of registering three hits at the box-office, the actress has not won any awards this year. “I have been nominated everywhere. I am glad that Deepika won all the awards this year as she deserved them. Had I won any award, I would have felt bad. The kind of work that Deepika has done, she truly deserved all the awards,” she says.
Is Parineeti on a mission to prove herself as an actor which explains why she is signing all off-beat movies instead of out-and-out masala entertainers?
“The very fact that I didn’t choose films that were typical proves that I am not the kind of actress who will take up a film because it will do Rs 100 crore business. Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl was not a typical debut. There were four other actors too in the film, yet I won awards. Shuddh Desi Romance too got great reviews and Ishaqzaade was a superb film. All my films have done well,” she says, with a hint of arrogance in her voice.
The actress says that she’s currently working on Shaad Ali’s Kill Dil and Habib Faisal’s Daawat-E-Ishq with Aditya Raj Kapoor.
“I am dying to work with Govinda in Kill Dil and I am a big fan of director Shaad Ali,” she confesses.
The real Parineeti
Ask her about the Parineeti Chopra that we don’t know, and she says that she has a nose of a Blood Hound. “I can smell anything; my sense of smell is really really strong. My whole team is aware, so they make sure that the car smells good. They have to wear perfume when they are with me. I am sure I will find my husband through my nose,” she grins.
Before we part, we ask Parineeti if she feels that she has achieved stardom with three successive hits.
“Stardom comes after giving many hits and I have yet to go a long way,” comes the parting shot from her.Disclaimer: All images of this post have been released through a PR agency for publicity and have been procured from public forums and social networking sites. Please inform us if any of the images used here are copyrighted and we will pull those images down. Content Copyright: The responsibility and the sole ownership of the content is of the author who has contributed the content to this blog as a friendly gesture. Please don’t copy-paste matter from this blog. To contact the writer, please visit her author page HERE. You may also write to her at shamabhagat@gmail.com.
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