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'IT'S NOT A COMEBACK FOR PRIYANKA'
Farhan Akhtar says PeeCee has always been a part of Bollywood; she hasn’t really gone anywhere
Actor Farhan Akhtar’s association with Priyanka Chopra goes back over a decade. He first directed her in Don (2006) followed by its sequel in 2011 and finally the two got to star in a film together, Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) where they played childhood sweethearts who couldn’t marry but were destined to reunite in the end. Switch to 2018, and the two have once again teamed up for a film – The Sky is Pink. The shoot for the film is currently on, and it’s being touted as Priyanka’s homecoming project, as she would be seen in a Hindi film after a hiatus, ever since she’s been working in international TV shows and films.
But Farhan doesn’t think it’s a comeback. “Bechari... (poor girl) she has not really gone anywhere, she has always been a part of this [Bollywood] industry,” he insists.
He also adds that his equation with Priyanka hasn’t changed in all these years. “She is still the same person. She’s still as much fun to be around, and still so serious about her work. From the time I have directed her in the Don films, to acting with her in Dil Dhadakne Do to now this film, it has been really easy working with her at all times in any given capacity. I am really thankful that it’s Priyanka in this film and work is coming along really well, and that’s the most important.”
Do things become drastically different when someone you once directed becomes your co-star? “Of course it does. Your demands on a film set are completely different as an actor and as a director. When you are directing, half the time you are busy doing many other things and your work with the actor gets done much before you come on to set. You are dealing with technicalities of the shoot and then someone comes and performs, that’s about it,” says Farhan.
But dynamics change with a co-star, he says. “While acting with someone, you get to spend a lot more time, like discussing a particular scene or other aspects of life — all of that does happen. So, it has been really nice catching up with Priyanka because it has been really long... a year-and-a-half since she has been away,” says the actor.