Los Angeles: Priyanka Chopra recently played the lead in Amazon Prime Video's spy thriller Citadel. The actress is shattering some stereotypes in Hollywood but said that it did not come to her easily.
Speaking to Filmfare, she said Hollywood has changed since she started working in the industry and Indian actors are demanding that they do not want to be sidekicks anymore. She added that Hollywood needs to do a lot more in terms of diversity. "They need to do a lot more. If you think about leading ladies, how many Indian leading roles have you seen? There are so few we have seen coming into Hollywood. In the last five years, there has been a big demand from actors who say, I don't want to be a sidekick anymore. I know I did."
The Quantico actress said that she did not want to be someone the studio picked to check the token diversity box. "I didn't want to be one of the checks in the box that says we've made our cast diverse, that we have an Indian, an Asian, and so on. I didn't want to have that. And I know a lot of my colleagues don't want to do that."
The 40-year-old said that she has directly told many producers that she does not want to do stereotypical parts. "So I've taken many meetings where I've clearly told producers, 'Don't put me in stereotypical parts. I don't want to do it. I'm going to work hard for you because I know my damn job. I'll come onto the set and do 10 percent more than what you asked for, or maybe even 20 percent. I will be better than anyone you've cast because I'm not afraid of working hard."
She further said that bringing such change in the industry requires "selling yourself".
Priyanka thinks that Hollywood will one day get used to seeing South Asian actors in the forefront. "I hope that maybe by seeing me and other female South Asian talents at the forefront. For example, Simone Ashley in Bridgerton, Mindy Kaling in The Mindy Project and everything else she’s doing, or Deepika Padukone. By seeing a lot more of us, Hollywood will get used to the fact that this is normal. It isn't special or rare. I'm hoping that's what the next generation of actresses inherits from my generation of actresses."
Citadel's first season finale started streaming yesterday and the series has already been renewed for a second season.