Priyanka Chopra says casting in Bollywood should be merit based instead of politics and drama: ‘No camps should rule it’ : Bollywood News

The lead pair of Prime Video’s upcoming global spy series, Citadel, Richard Madden, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, have been busy promoting their upcoming series. After the Asia Pacific premiere in Mumbai earlier in April, the actress is in London for the promotions and has the premiere on Tuesday night. Amid this, while she was in India, she made some intriguing comments about the inner workings of the industry and its politics of it. Before she came to India, the actress was on a podcast to talk about her work where she discussed that she was cornered in the film industry which led to her trying out opportunities in the West.

Priyanka Chopra says casting in Bollywood should be merit based instead of politics and drama: 'No camps should rule it'

Priyanka Chopra says casting in Bollywood should be merit based instead of politics and drama: ‘No camps should rule it’

In an interview with Indian Express, Priyanka Chopra talked about the ways in which the industry become a safe space for outsiders. “I think having conversations around opportunity and merit is important. Now that we are living in the world of streaming, there is so much more. The Hindi film industry has changed so much in the last five to ten years. You have so many talent – writers, directors, actors that come from outside the industry. When I first started, that was not the case, at all. So I think having conversations around the fact that the workplace should be merit based, that the workplace should be a positive environment, that casting should be a casting director’s job instead of the politics and the drama,” the actor said.

“I think having those conversations is really, really important so that there are no camps that actually rule casting and it is done because of merit and because of audiences wanting to watch people. I am so excited to be able to see so many new faces from outside (of the film industry) and different parts of the country who have come in to mainstream Hindi language entertainment. It gives me such a joy, to be able to see that in my own career. And that happened because my generation of actors fought for it,” she added.

Earlier, while speaking on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd, Priyanka had shared that she felt cornered in the film industry & that she was tired of the politics of it all. “I was being pushed into a corner in the industry (Bollywood). I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, I am not good at playing that game so I kind of was tired of the politics and I said I needed a break. This music thing gave me an opportunity to go into another part of the world, not crave for the movies I didn’t want to get but I would require to schmooze certain clubs and cliques of people. It would require groveling and I had worked a long time by then that I didn’t feel like I wanted to do it,” the actress has shared.

Priyanka Chopra is now gearing up for Citadel premiere on Prime Video. The synopsis reads, “Eight years ago, Citadel fell. The independent global spy agency – tasked to uphold the safety and security of all people – was destroyed by operatives of Manticore, a powerful syndicate manipulating the world from the shadows. With Citadel’s fall, elite agents Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) had their memories wiped as they narrowly escaped with their lives. They’ve remained hidden ever since, building new lives under new identities, unaware of their pasts. Until one night, when Mason is tracked down by his former Citadel colleague, Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), who desperately needs his help to prevent Manticore from establishing a new world order. Mason seeks out his former partner, Nadia, and the two spies embark on a mission that takes them around the world in an effort to stop Manticore, all while contending with a relationship built on secrets, lies, and a dangerous-yet-undying love.”

Citadel is executive produced by the Russo Brothers’ AGBO and showrunner David Weil. Alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden, the 6-episode series features Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville in pivotal roles. This thrilling spy series, which takes viewers around the world, will premiere exclusively on Prime Video starting April 28 with two episodes and then one episode rolling out weekly through May 26. The global series will stream across 240 countries and territories in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and other international languages.