From Miss World to A-List B-Town movie star to international recording star and now a voice in Disney's Planes – Priyanka Chopra talks to our resident Bollywood cinema expert, Ashanti Omkar.
Not seen Planes yet? Book your tickets here.
Let’s talk about your work with Disney. You voice Ishani in Planes, which is your first cartoon...
Every girl wants to be a princess and for me, I wanted to be Tinkerbell, the fairy. In my head I am her. I received a call, asking if I was interested in an animation film. I really liked the character when I read the script.
Ishani is complex, as she goes grey and finally finds her heart at the end. And I love the way that [central character] Dusty has a crush on her and says things like her having a ‘cute propellor’. It’s a family film and I’ve done quite a few family films. I can’t say it’s a kids movie, as Disney films are really for the family demographic.
The video of AR Rahman’s Tere bina playing, as you cruise the Taj Mahal with Dusty, is really quite sweet…
I love the song and it is completely apt for the scene. I’d say it is the most beautiful scene in the film, so romantic, with the birds and the glorious Taj Mahal, shown from many perspectives.
If there is a Planes 2, will a real romance blossom between Ishani and Dusty?
I don’t know, but I do hope so. That would be a question to pose to Disney (chuckles).
We’ve always spoken about your strong voice and singing talents, from your choir work growing up in the US. You are now also a very successful international recording star…
I really see myself as a new musician and a new artist. I’m just 3 songs old and I hope to become the musician I want to be, eventually. I’m thrilled by the response I’ve had to all my musical output this far, especially right now, for ‘Exotic’. This encourages me to try harder.
You have Zanjeer (Thoofan in Telugu) by Apoorva Lakhia, a bilingual film with Ram Charan 
coming right up...
I’m very excited for the September 6th release of this, as it is an interesting film. It is not actually a remake, but a tribute. Apoorva’s tribute, an inspired version, as he was a fan of the original. I’m so happy to be a part of it.
I play an Indian NRI Gujarati girl who sings the ‘Pinky song’ and then witnesses a murder. It’s Ram’s 1st Hindi film, but he is huge in the South. He’s very good and hope the audiences embrace him. We shot this twice, in Hindi and in Telugu and I memorised and spoke my lines in Telugu, as Mala’s character speaks a lot of 3 page monologues. But I didn’t feel my accent did justice, so they gave it a dubbing artiste for the Telugu version.
And of course, everyone is talking about Krrish 3 by Rakesh Roshan with Hrithik Roshan…
I’m super excited and very grateful and humbled that it got so many trailer views so soon. What can I say, it is a super film and I’m very sure it will be very entertaining for all, especially if you’re a fan of the franchise.
And you have a few more high profile films upcoming…
Yes, I have Gunday by Ali Abbas Zafar, a period film, where I play a Bengali girl in the 80s. This was a very different role for me to essay. Arjun (Kapoor) and I have been friends for a while and I met Ranveer (Singh) 2 years ago - they are both super talented and nuts to work with! And I also have the biopic about the Olympic boxer Mary Kom coming up, and I’ve been training hard. She also showed me around her hometown Imphal, in Manipur.
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