Priyanka Chopra Opens Up About Being Subjected To Racism In America!

The promo of Priyanka Chopra's American television show  received a lot of praise and, as expected, she received an overwhelming response. However, when she was questioned in an interview about her stint with Hollywood, and she bared her heart revealing something heart-wrenching.

When Priyanka Chopra decided to begin her international stint, she already knew the stereotypes about Indian people.

"My tryst with the international world has been very personal for me. When I went to school in America, there was a lot of stereotypes attached to Indian people. I was bullied a lot. I witnessed a lot of racism and that’s exactly why I came back to India. I was 16 years old. I was called a ‘Brownie’ and some even told me, “Go back to where you came from.”

She added that Indians were always represented in a particular way.

"We all don't smell of curry. We all are not ugly-looking nerds, who are shy and always keep sitting behind their computers. Yes, we are very proud of our big families but that doesn’t mean ki har gaadi mein se 15 log bahar niklenge. In global pop-culture, we are always represented like that. I wanted to break that."

So when she was approached by ABC network to play a significant role in an American series, she wanted to break stereotypes.

"I never thought of doing anything with them in terms of acting because I was only getting offers to play the Indian princess, some exotic looking snake-charmer or some hypnotizing lady. I never wanted to be restricted to such typical avatars. But it annoys me when my country is seen as only that much in global entertainment.

I play an American girl and I have an American accent. My mother’s character on the show has an Indian accent. I think it’s high time that Indians are given the recognition for our talent and not because of our Yoga and things like that."

But that's not it. Even in the past, there have been cases where stars were trapped in incidents of mild racism or just an elitist attitude.

Shilpa Shetty

When Shilpa Shetty participated in the British reality show Big Brother, she accused her fellow contestants of calling her names like 'Shilpa F*ckawallah', 'Shilpa Daroopa' and 'Shilpa Poppadom'.  She was also called a "d*ck" and "wanker". 

Shah Rukh Khan

American immigration officials denied that the actor had been formally held, but Indians condemned what they called the "humiliating" treatment given to Khan, a Muslim who is well-loved in a largely Hindu country. Fans and the film fraternity stood by King Khan and they detested the behavior of airport authorities claiming it as 'racist' and 'unreasonable'

Neil Nitin Mukesh

Neil's fair complexion made it unbelievable for immigration officials to believe that he was an Indian. The incident occurred when Neil Nitin Mukesh flew to the US to shoot the Yashraj film New York . 

APJ Abdul Kalam

Even former President of India, Mr Kalam, wasn't spared. He revealed that he was made to remove his shoes and empty out the contents of his pockets, and a hand-held metal detector was run over his body. The incident happened when he boarded a Continental Airlines flight to the US.