Priyanka Chopra’s rise in Hollywood may look seamless today, but her journey to global stardom was met with deep scepticism in its early days. Her manager, Anjula Acharia, has revealed that she was openly ridiculed for believing an Indian Bollywood actor could break into the American entertainment industry.
Speaking on The Ok Sweetie Show, Anjula recalled how industry insiders questioned her decision to introduce Priyanka to Hollywood. “People told me I was stupid when I brought Priyanka. Everyone was like, ‘You can’t break a brown Bollywood star in America,’” she said. At the time, Priyanka had just begun exploring opportunities beyond India, and the odds seemed stacked against her.
Anjula shared that during a moment of self-doubt, she reached out to music mogul Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Interscope Records, who had partnered with her on Priyanka’s early international music ventures. Reassuring her, Iovine drew a parallel with his own career, reminding her that people had once called him “crazy” for wanting to launch a white rapper named Eminem. His words helped reinforce her belief that unconventional bets often lead to historic success.
Over the years, Priyanka Chopra has proved those doubts wrong. She has built a strong presence in Hollywood with mainstream roles across genres—action, drama and comedy—working alongside global stars such as Idris Elba, Dwayne Johnson, Keanu Reeves, Karl Urban, John Cena and Pedro Pascal. Unlike many before her, she avoided being boxed into stereotypical “exotic” roles, earning recognition as a versatile performer.
Recently, Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej also pointed out that Priyanka’s global success is often underappreciated in India. He noted that she remains the only Indian actor of any generation to truly make waves internationally after already being a top star at home, while also balancing her role as a UNICEF ambassador and philanthropist.
On the work front, Priyanka has a packed slate ahead. She will headline Netflix’s The Bluff, playing a 19th-century Caribbean pirate opposite Karl Urban, and return for the next season of Citadel. She is also set to appear in SS Rajamouli’s ambitious film Varanasi, alongside Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran, marking her Telugu cinema debut ahead of its planned Sankranti 2027 release.