Priyanka Chopra: For Mary Kom I did three months of homework

The Bollywood actress, who has reprised the role of 'Mary Kom' for her next, remembers the times spent in Lucknow as a student. Priyanka Chopra is one of those celebs Lucknow likes to call its own. So when the Bollywood actress came to the city on Friday to promote her film Mary Kom, the audience was delighted to hear her talk about her memories of the city.
ALSO READ: Priyanka Chopra: Lesser known facts
“I have spent a lot of time during my childhood in Lucknow.Lucknow always brings to me really wonderful memories. My parents were posted in Bareilly , so I have also spent a lot of time at the Charbagh Railway Station, travelling to Lucknow, as I used to study in La Martiniere Girls College then. Mom mujhe school se pick karti thi, and hum rickshaw se Charbagh jaya karte thay, from where we'd catch a train home to Bareilly ," she said.
ALSO READ: 5 things that Priyanka Chopra should endorse
“I also studied at St Paul's School in Cantt. I remember my mother and I would go to Hazratganj every weekend on the rickshaw, which was the best place in the world for me then. I have some very fond memories of Lucknow," she added.
ALSO READ: 5 Oops moments of Priyanka Chopra
Probably, it was the memories of her time spent in Lucknow with her father that left Priyanka in a slightly sullen mood. Running late by nearly two hours for the press conference at a multiplex, Priyan ka apologised for the delay but also curtly told the photographers to sit and wait patiently for a photo-op with her.
Priyanka also spoke about her Lucknow friends. “I have a lot of relatives and friends living here," she said. When asked to name a few she said, “You really want me to name them? They will hate me for this because woh world famous ho jayenge! But there are so many. Rita Goel is like my family. Her sons are in fact my Rakhi brothers. I met them recently, in fact just now, before coming here. There's another family here that I remain in touch with. So yes, Lucknow is like home!"
With Mary Kom having been made tax-free in Maharashtra as well as Gujarat, there were also talks of the film getting a tax-free status in UP as well. To which Priyanka reacted excitedly , “I hope Akhilesh bhaiyya ne hamari film ko tax-free karne ke baare mein baat kari ho (with the producers). Agar aisa ho jata hai, toh it will be very nice. If Akhileshji thinks that our film is good and makes it tax-free in the state, toh hamare liye bahot hi achha ho jayega." Talking about preparing for her role as Mary Kom, Priyanka said, “For me every film that I do requires a certain amount of homework, whether it's a film like Don where I had to learn martial arts or Barfi! where I had to get into the head of an autistic child, or even if it's a song like Ram Chahe Leela jahan dus din ki rehearsal hoti hai. So every film requires some homework and this film required three months of it. I needed to look like a boxer and I had to learn boxing. Main sports kabhi khelti nahi thi. School mein kabhi-kabhi mujhe basket ball ke liye bhej diya jata tha kyunki main lambi hoon. But besides that, I had never played sports, so it was all very new to me to learn the spirit of the game, learn its competetive spirit and I think that was my major training. And I was trained by Mary's coaches because Mary is a left hander and I am a right hander. And her boxing style is very distinct, itna guard upar nahi rakhti, bahot careless hai, bahot fast bhi hai. So I had to get that style. My team of coaches taught me all of that."
She also told how she suffered serious beating while shooting the film. “We shot with real boxers for the film and they did try to mimic a punch but sometimes it didn't work. So finally, I told them that I'll tighten my stomach and you hit. So yes, iss film mein meri kafi pitayi hui hai. See, while shooting a slow-motion sequence, aapko dikhana padta hai of the fist coming in contact with the cheek, so aise shots mein mujhe chote lagi thi. But maine bhi kafi mara logon ko," she said with a laugh.
Watch: Mary Kom Trailer