I was once called an Arab terrorist: Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra talks about battling stereotypes in the West

Bollywood starlet Priyanka Chopra may have become an overnight sensation in Hollywood, but it was no easy task.

The Bollywood actor opened up about how people in the West held very tainted views about her before she started working there. "I’m not even Indian-American, I’m Indian-Indian. Everybody expected me to have henna and a nose pin and talk in an accent like Apu from The Simpsons," Priyanka said in an in-depth interview with The Guardian.

On landing the lead role in her Hollywood TV debut Quantico, Priyanka explained she was "nervous because I wasn’t sure if America was ready for a lead that looked like me."

PHOTO: AMAZON.COM

But this could be largely due to her childhood years spent in the US. The Bajirao Mastani star spoke about fighting stereotypes in America, from early years when she was studying there and in Canada.

“I was the only Indian kid in my school in Iowa. Later I lived in Queens, New York and Newton, Massachusetts, and in high school I was bullied really badly," said PeeCee.

Children called her “brownie” and “curry” and would tell her to go back to her own country. “It was supremely scary,” she added. “I would avoid going to the cafeteria and eat in the bathroom instead.”

PHOTO: PEOPLE MAGAZINE

Now that Chopra has grown into a strong, beautiful woman, she spoke out when faced with racism. Although her new show Quantico has received a hugely positive response in the US, further ensured by her recent People's Choice award, she wasn't always welcomed with open arms in the country.

When her song In My City was used as the theme for Thursday Night Football in 2013, NFL fans were enraged and emailed the league asking, "Who is this Arab terrorist?"

“I find it really funny that people have such primitive thinking,” Chopra noted. “I called them out. I said: ‘Why is every Arab person a terrorist, and why am I an Arab terrorist just because I am brown?’”

When she was approached by vice president of casting for ABC, Keli Lee, to star in Quantico, the Bollywood heartthrob had one condition: “I wanted to be cast as an actor on merit as being the best person for the job. I didn’t want to be a stereotype of what an Indian girl should be. I wanted to be what I personify in my Indian movies: independent, sexy, good at my job and really smart.”

Her character Alex Parrish was not written for someone with Indian heritage and once she was casted, it was re-written to include Chopra's background.

SCREENGRAB

When asked about presenting at the Oscars despite the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, Chopra explained that she is too new to the US industry to take extreme decisions, like boycotting the event.

“I am too new in this industry to be taking extreme decisions like that. When it comes to India I am very vocal about how I feel, but I am just six months old here, and honestly I want to go and see what will happen at the Oscars, especially as there is such a huge debate. I think it will be a very interesting evening,” she said.

PHOTO: AFP

Commenting on her incredibly hectic schedule as of late, the Quantico star reveals she spends 16 hours a day filming for the show in Montreal and then flies back to Mumbai for a day during the weekend, to shoot her Bollywood flick Jai Gangaajal.

PHOTO: BOLLYWOODLIFE.COM

"I am in a state of permanent exhaustion," she vented.

Does she ever get lonely?  “I’m always around people!’”

“I want to be lonely. I want to be left alone for, like, two hours."

Her drive and determination to win is what keeps this star going -- "I just like being the best. I hate being a loser. So I just have to keep winning.”