"They Told Me I Was Too Ethnic": Priyanka Chopra on Bias, Gender, and Cinema | TIFF IN 20

During this 20-minute cutdown of her conversation at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, Priyanka Chopra reflected on the dualities of her global career, addressing systemic biases in both Hollywood and Bollywood. She recalled being rejected for a mainstream American role shortly after Quantico for being "too ethnic," highlighting the industry's discomfort with integrating an Indian character without over-explaining her background. Chopra juxtaposed this with an early experience in Bollywood at age 19 or 20, where a producer bluntly told her that female leads were entirely replaceable props behind the male actors. This psychological turning point inspired her to seek out unconventional, powerful roles rather than passive, stereotypical characters. She pointed to the massive success of Wonder Woman (2017) and her own 2008 risk with the female-led film Fashion as critical breakthroughs that challenged the long-held industry belief that audiences only show up for male-dominated projects. Chopra also opened up about her artistic process and philanthropic dedication. Discussing her acting methodology, she explained how a veteran actor taught her to read scripts dozens of times to uncover the writer's intention through the silences between lines, adapting her spontaneous style to work alongside various method actors like Ranbir Kapoor. She detailed the immense emotional and physical commitment required to portray championship boxer Mary Kom, finding deep inspiration in Kom's fight against systemic oppression and poverty. Beyond the screen, Chopra spoke passionately about her global advocacy as a UNICEF ambassador and her self-funded foundation, which educates young girls in India. This philanthropic drive was sparked at age 23 when she discovered her cook's daughter was being denied an education simply because of her gender—fueling Chopra's lifelong mission to ensure that women's issues are treated as urgent human issues. For more about the Toronto International Film Festival and our year-round programming at TIFF Lightbox, visit http://tiff.net. Subscribe to watch more from TIFF:    / tiff   Want more TIFF? Find us here:   / tiff_net     / tiff_net     / tiff_net     / tiffnet