The Sweet Science of Ambition

How does a desi girl go from being Indian to International? Priyanka Chopra on the drive needed to adopt changing values...

- Mark Manuel

PRIYANKA CHOPRA’S giving no quarter in 2017. The actress ended last year by moving up to No. 16 on IMDb, the world’s largest Internet movie database, ahead of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Watson and even Johnny Depp in the popularity stakes. And to No. 8 on Forbes’ list of highest-paid celebs in the world. She joined UNICEF’s global goodwill ambassadors Jackie Chan and David Beckham. Time magazine put her on the cover as one of its ‘100 Most Influential People of The World’. And LinkedIn counted her among its 500-plus global influencers. She was the cover girl on at least 15 international magazines. She presented awards at the Oscars, the Billboard Music Awards and the Emmys, received the People’s Choice Award for Favourite Actress in a New TV Series, appeared on the most sought-after American talk shows, on red carpets and billboards, had dinner with President Barack Obama at the White House, and got a Padma Shri and her second Dadasaheb Phalke Award. She also became a social media trendsetter and gamechanger in the digital space, broke the Internet, ruled it, and indisputably owned 2016.

WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE