Yesterday, Priyanka Chopra delivered a rousing speech at the Penguin Annual Lecture held in New Delhi. She spoke about how she has been able to turn her vulnerability into strength, and also shared some difficult instances where she was thrown out of a film because the hero’s girlfriend or the director’s girlfriend wanted the role. Despite all of these setbacks, she has been able to emerge as the numero uno Bollywood actress who has made us proud on an international stage. 

Making it despite not having connections in the film industry

Priyanka didn’t have it easy, and shared how she has made it despite coming from a humble background. “I’m not someone who was born with a silver spoon, even though my parents always gave me one. But I’ve worked really hard to be where I am and each of us deserves to be compensated for it,” she said in the lecture when asked about whether the money she has made mattered to her. 

She won the Miss World crown at just 17

And she didn’t go overboard or tried to put too much pressure on herself to make it big. “I didn’t take the pressure at all. At 17, when I won the crown, I enjoyed the experience too much to think about the pressure and other issues. I just went with the flow,” she said in an interview with DNA. Well, whatever her attitude was, it has worked really well. 

She isn’t afraid to take risks

Choosing to launch an international music album after being a successful Bollywood actress is not a move everyone can make. If she failed, she would have fallen flat on her face and been ridiculed. But Priyanka had the conviction that she would succeed, and found able partners in Pitbull and will.i.am. “Working with Pitbull was great — he is hugely creative. The lyrics he wrote are so personal, and he made the song about me and us. He made it real and I loved it. We only met during the shooting of the video and after that we have been in touch. I had a great time during the video shoot, which was all laughter and jokes. He was great fun and I was pleasantly surprised,” she said. 

She can bring her fitness A-Game when required

Priyanka Chopra works a lot on her fitness to make sure she stays in the best shape of her life (even though she does indulge diet wise because of her high metabolism). That said, her training regime to get her in shape for Mary Kom’s biopic is what really inspires us. In the film, she can be seen doing some extremely tough exercises like handstand push-ups and human flag which can take months to perfect. 

She doesn’t judge other people’s lives

Well, it’s difficult to understand how other people manage to get up in the morning and fight their own battles. Trying to judge them for their choices makes you bitter and fill you with negativity which can spell doom for your dreams. In an interview on Koffee With Karan, Priyanka said, “I feel like people should be able to live their own lives. If I had people judging my life, there’d be lots to say so I don’t like judging other people’s lives.”