Homegirl Priyanka making us proud
Says bestie Srishti Arya as ‘Quantico’ takes off and critics go rara over PeeCee; Anil Kapoor, Preity Zinta, Kerry Washington and Jay Sean celebrate with the actress.
Last year, when ABC President, Paul Lee, approached Priyanka Chopra for the lead role in the network’s FBIdrama, Quantico, which went on air in the US on Sunday, the actress hopped on board, having loved the “ethnically ambiguous” Alex Parrish, who has since become her “alter ego”. And when she got the all-American cast and crew to dance to “Bang Bang” on Good Morning America, Lee was assured he’d bet on the best horse. “Priyanka’s a star and we think the entire world will be talking about her,” Paul told Mirror from the red carpet premiere of the TV show in Los Angeles, on Sunday evening.
He isn’t the only one going gaga over the “brown beauty” as PeeCee likes to describe herself. British songwriter-composer, Jay Sean, exults, “So proud of my home girl, for her lead role. Massive breakthrough for South Asians.” And Bryan Adams quipped, “Hoot hoot, time to make some music together.” Even mom Madhu Chopra had a fan-moment with Tony Goldwyn. Tony, who plays American President Fitzgerald Grant in the popular TV show Scandal, raved, “Ah! So now I know where Priyanka got her other worldly beauty and really big brain from.”
The Hollywood Reporter said, “If you’re a fan of How To Get Away With Murder (which Quantico borrows from heavily) and Scandal, you’ll be right at home with Quantico, which, in future, will likely have plenty of Grey’s Anatomy sexy-time moments as well.”
Variety praised PeeCee for being an “arresting lead” but wondered whether it was possible to do “a Shonda Rhimes-like show without her brand of pixie dust”.
People Magazine praised Priyanka for her, “poise and sexual spark as Alex that suggests a formidable potential FBI agent whose mind and beauty are equally stunning”. However, the review stated that the pilot didn’t spark much excitement. An opinion endorsed by The New York Times which described the pilot as “competently OK TV” but praised PeeCee as “the strongest human asset in Quantico who is immediately charismatic and commanding amid the otherwise generic ensemble”.
However, Priyanka’s 3am buddy, filmmaker Srishti Arya, insisted that the Indian audience has yet to gauge the magnitude of her best friend’s debut. “The show is airing in the primetime slot across 180 countries. Priyanka could have easily stayed in her Bollywood cocoon given that she’s one of the top stars here, but she took a risk and put herself out there like a debutante, leaving herself open to criticism and judgement,” Srishti reasoned, adding that starting over in a new industry has been her favourite part of this journey.
Srishti caught an episode of the show which Priyanka had shared with close friends via a private link from Montreal, and reveals that Priyanka’s a young girl, who loves burgers and her taste in music is similar to that of Srishti’s 10-year-old son.”
“You’ll never see her carrying her global stardom on her sleeve. She’ll be back to doing a Hindi film soon and will live her life the way she always has, with a lot of hardwork and commitment” she asserted.
Meanwhile, Viola Davis who is the first African-American to win an Emmy Award for the best actress, raved about how PeeCee had “aced Bollywood’s towel dance”. She was referring to her performance to the Salman Khan-trademark number, “Jeene ke hain chaar din” from Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. Viola, plays Annalise Keating on the show How To Get Away With Murder.
With Quantico, which begins airing in India on October 3, on Star World, Priyanka becomes the first Indian to headline an American series. Representing Bollywood at the bash, were Preity Zinta and Anil Kapoor. Priyanka introduced Kapoor as “an actor who has paved the way for Indian actors in Hollywood”. He reciprocated with “Ekdum jhakaas”. Preity was google-eyed after she was referred to as “another sizzling beauty from India.” Sonakshi Sinha, who really wanted to make it to the LA premiere, filmed a video, ending with a signature Akshay Kumar ‘good luck’ kick. And PeeCee replied saying that they needed to get Sona in action on the show soon. Well! The girls are out to conquer the world!
Last year, when ABC President, Paul Lee, approached Priyanka Chopra for the lead role in the network’s FBIdrama, Quantico, which went on air in the US on Sunday, the actress hopped on board, having loved the “ethnically ambiguous” Alex Parrish, who has since become her “alter ego”. And when she got the all-American cast and crew to dance to “Bang Bang” on Good Morning America, Lee was assured he’d bet on the best horse. “Priyanka’s a star and we think the entire world will be talking about her,” Paul told Mirror from the red carpet premiere of the TV show in Los Angeles, on Sunday evening.
He isn’t the only one going gaga over the “brown beauty” as PeeCee likes to describe herself. British songwriter-composer, Jay Sean, exults, “So proud of my home girl, for her lead role. Massive breakthrough for South Asians.” And Bryan Adams quipped, “Hoot hoot, time to make some music together.” Even mom Madhu Chopra had a fan-moment with Tony Goldwyn. Tony, who plays American President Fitzgerald Grant in the popular TV show Scandal, raved, “Ah! So now I know where Priyanka got her other worldly beauty and really big brain from.”
The pilot episode, Run, which attracted considerable global attention, opened to mixed reviews, but all critics unanimously applauded Priyanka’s performance.
The Hollywood Reporter said, “If you’re a fan of How To Get Away With Murder (which Quantico borrows from heavily) and Scandal, you’ll be right at home with Quantico, which, in future, will likely have plenty of Grey’s Anatomy sexy-time moments as well.”
Variety praised PeeCee for being an “arresting lead” but wondered whether it was possible to do “a Shonda Rhimes-like show without her brand of pixie dust”.
People Magazine praised Priyanka for her, “poise and sexual spark as Alex that suggests a formidable potential FBI agent whose mind and beauty are equally stunning”. However, the review stated that the pilot didn’t spark much excitement. An opinion endorsed by The New York Times which described the pilot as “competently OK TV” but praised PeeCee as “the strongest human asset in Quantico who is immediately charismatic and commanding amid the otherwise generic ensemble”.
However, Priyanka’s 3am buddy, filmmaker Srishti Arya, insisted that the Indian audience has yet to gauge the magnitude of her best friend’s debut. “The show is airing in the primetime slot across 180 countries. Priyanka could have easily stayed in her Bollywood cocoon given that she’s one of the top stars here, but she took a risk and put herself out there like a debutante, leaving herself open to criticism and judgement,” Srishti reasoned, adding that starting over in a new industry has been her favourite part of this journey.
Srishti caught an episode of the show which Priyanka had shared with close friends via a private link from Montreal, and reveals that Priyanka’s a young girl, who loves burgers and her taste in music is similar to that of Srishti’s 10-year-old son.”
“You’ll never see her carrying her global stardom on her sleeve. She’ll be back to doing a Hindi film soon and will live her life the way she always has, with a lot of hardwork and commitment” she asserted.
Meanwhile, Viola Davis who is the first African-American to win an Emmy Award for the best actress, raved about how PeeCee had “aced Bollywood’s towel dance”. She was referring to her performance to the Salman Khan-trademark number, “Jeene ke hain chaar din” from Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. Viola, plays Annalise Keating on the show How To Get Away With Murder.
With Quantico, which begins airing in India on October 3, on Star World, Priyanka becomes the first Indian to headline an American series. Representing Bollywood at the bash, were Preity Zinta and Anil Kapoor. Priyanka introduced Kapoor as “an actor who has paved the way for Indian actors in Hollywood”. He reciprocated with “Ekdum jhakaas”. Preity was google-eyed after she was referred to as “another sizzling beauty from India.” Sonakshi Sinha, who really wanted to make it to the LA premiere, filmed a video, ending with a signature Akshay Kumar ‘good luck’ kick. And PeeCee replied saying that they needed to get Sona in action on the show soon. Well! The girls are out to conquer the world!
