Don’t think of anything as a do-or-die situation: Priyanka Chopra
Actor thinks Mary Kom is brilliant and will inspire the youth to take up challenges
Priyanka Chopra has been going all out to promote her upcoming film Mary Kom, a biopic on the well-known Indian boxer MC Mary Kom from Manipur.
The 32-year-old actor thinks the biopic is brilliant and it will be inspirational for the youth. It will inspire them to take up challenges they encounter in life and subsequently do outstanding things. “Mary Kom is a story of a woman who has seen tough times and yet emerged a winner. Mary Kom, the boxer, has been through so many struggles and it was through her tremendous spirit coupled with an urge to live life with dignity that she became a world champion. The story is truly motivational and inspiring,” Chopra told, Hindustan Times.
Omang Kumar, who is making his debut as a director with Mary Kom, was with Priyanka in Jaipur and was raving about the versatile actor. “When I decided to make the film on Mary Kom, the only actor I could think of was Priyanka Chopra. And she has done an excellent job in the movie. She is thoroughly dedicated and hard working. In fact, when I suggested that the fight scenes should be shot involving real boxing players, she readily agreed to it without any hiccups,” said Kumar.
The debutant director revealed that even though it was challenging to teach an actor how to play a sport — boxing to Priyanka — it was much more difficult to teach a sportsman how to act. “The real boxers took it as a game, owing to which Priyanka had bruises on her body but she like a champ flaunted those around as if she was wearing a medal,” he said.
Chopra does not have a Bollywood background, she was the first from her family to take up a career in acting. Therefore, she has valuable advice for those who aspire to make it big in Bollywood. “My advice to the youngsters out there is that don’t think of anything as a do-or-die situation. The world is your oyster and you can do anything you want. Never lose hope and always have a positive outlook in life. Always say ye nahin hota toh kuch aur karr lenge. Just because one thing doesn’t work out, it doesn’t mean nothing will. It is indeed not easy to achieve all your goals in life but for that one needs to sacrifice a lot of comfort and luxury,” said the actor on a final note.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2014.