Priyanka Chopra becomes
the first Bollywood star to headline an American TV series with ABC's
"Quantico," premiering September 27. The show is a drama about a
group of young FBI recruits who discovers that one of them is suspected of
masterminding the biggest attack on New York since 9/11. Here's a look at some
other Indian actors on TV.
(CNN)She's a megastar from Mumbai, India, home to the world's
most prolific film industry.
She's an award-winning actress, a former Miss World, a
singer and a dancer. She serves as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and as a United
Nations Girl Up Champion, and she is involved in efforts to promote the
education of girls in India.
She's a social media queen, with more than 10 million
followers on Twitter.
Priyanka Chopra has international cachet and a global fan
base. But her star power has been relatively lackluster in the United States.
That may be about to change. Chopra is the star of "Quantico," a drama
premiering September 27 on ABC. In recent weeks, her face has been splashed
across billboards and buses from Los Angeles to Toronto to New York.
Priyanka Chopra as FBI recruit Alex Parrish in ABC's
"Quantico."
Chopra, 33, has thrived in the Indian film industry for more
than a decade. But as she gets ready for her close-up on American television,
she feels like a complete newcomer.
"I'm excited about making a new foray, but I'm also
very nervous," Chopra said. "I feel like a debutante, like how I felt
when my first movie was releasing in 2003. Every time I see a billboard, every
time I see my face on a bus or a magazine, I'm just like, 'It's a new culture,
a new country.' I hope that I'm accepted as an actor."
An empowered woman'
In the series, Chopra plays Alex
Parrish, one of a diverse group of new FBI recruits, each with a mysterious
past. As the show cuts between the present and the past, Parrish becomes the
prime suspect in a devastating terrorist attack in New York.
Chopra describes her character as a "Jason Bourne in a
female form."
"She's smart, she's sexy, she's intelligent, she kicks
ass, and she's not afraid to take her life in her own hands. But the beauty of
Alex is, she's not macho. She's very feminine, and she's vulnerable,"
Chopra said. "I love that she's a celebration of the modern woman. She's
not just an ass-kicking, feeling-less robot."
"Quantico" has been described as
"Homeland" meets "Grey's Anatomy." Its cast includes
Aunjanue Ellis as the assistant director of the FBI academy and Jake McLaughlin
as a fellow FBI recruit and love interest, but Chopra's character has the
central role.
"This is an idea that no one has explored: taking a
global actor, a global talent, and launching them in the American market,"
Chopra said. "It's new for all of us -- ABC, me, everyone -- it's the new
prototype. I guess we'll find out what happens."
Chopra, who lived in the U.S. for four years as a teenager,
credits the show's producers and ABC for taking a chance on her. She believes
that such diverse casting could be a precursor of entertainment's future as the
world shrinks.
"I think the globe has become a really small place now,
and we are all global citizens, at least I think I am," she said.
"The girl next door's face has changed. She does not come from a
particular place. ... She can be anyone from anywhere."
Indian actors on
American TV
In recent years, an increasing number
of actors of Indian origin have made an impact on American TV: Kunal Nayyar of
"The Big Bang Theory," Mindy Kaling of "The Mindy Project,"
Archie Punjabi of "The Good Wife," Dev Patel of "Newsroom,"
Nimrat Kaur of "Homeland," Aziz Ansari of "Parks and
Recreation," Aasif Mandvi of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"
and "The Brink," and Kal Penn of "House" and "Battle
Creek."
Veteran Indian actor Anil Kapoor ("Slumdog
Millionaire") is the first major Bollywood star to get a meaty role on
U.S. television, as the president of a fictional Middle Eastern country on the
eighth season of "24."
The "Slumdog Millionaire" cast -- from left, Dev
Patel, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan and Anil Kapoor -- at the 2009
Academy Awards. The film won Best Picture.
But he was not the lead character. That distinction goes to
Chopra, the first bona-fide star from India to headline an American series.
"It's certainly unprecedented for an A-list Bollywood
actor, male or female, to land a major role on a major American network
series," said Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com and an
entertainment analyst who follows the Indian film industry.
"This could be huge for the years ahead, not only for
Priyanka but for other stars out of Bollywood, because Hollywood does have a
copycat mentality," Pandya said. "So when something works,
competitors want to do the same thing."
Breaking stereotypes
In "Quantico," Chopra does
not come across as a Bollywood actress, said Matt Roush, senior television
critic for TV Guide. Alex Parrish's dad is white, and her mother is Indian.
Even the character's name does not sound Indian, he said.
"This kind of colorblind casting is a step in the right
direction," Roush said. "What I like about this kind of casting is
that the character could be played by an Asian; she could be played by an
African- American; she could be played by a Swede. It doesn't really
matter."
It is a part that any actor would love, and this drew her to
the role, Chopra said.
"I don't want to be the stereotype of an Indian girl,
because I see a lot of Indian talent being put into that box," Chopra
said. "I like to break barriers."
Chopra has refused roles that called for her to change
accents and act more Indian, said her U.S. manager, Anjula Acharia-Bath, who
herself faced prejudice as an Indian girl growing up in England.
Chopra was cast in "Quantico" after Acharia-Bath
met with Keli Lee, executive vice president of casting for ABC, and compared
notes about growing up in a television culture that did not reflect the
diversity of the real world.
Lee has helped discover some of the most famous faces in
television, including Sandra Oh in "Grey's Anatomy," Sofia Vergara in
"Modern Family" and Kerry Washington in "Scandal." She flew
to Mumbai to meet Chopra last year, and the actress signed a talent deal with
ABC studios.
Priyanka Chopra, right, is among a group of new recruits at
the FBI's training base in "Quantico."
Chopra said she owed it to her fans to settle for nothing
less than a stellar, starring role.
"I have a certain belief in myself, and I wouldn't want
to do anything less than I'm used to," she said. "I feel ABC recognized
that, and they gave me 'Quantico' on my terms, which is why I've taken this
leap."
Power of Indian cinema
Even before its pilot airs,
"Quantico" has been sold to dozens of countries around the world,
Chopra said.
"That just goes to show the power of Hindi
cinema," she said. "It's amazing the kind of reach we have in
countries where people don't even speak English. Hindi transcends language and
borders. We're just stories about life."
Although the Indian film industry is commonly identified
with Bollywood -- the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai -- regional
movie centers across the country churn out hundreds of films every year in
other languages, including Tamil, Telugu and Bengali.
The scale of the industry is staggering. India's film board
estimates that more than 1,250 feature films are produced every year. Most of
the movies follow a predictable pattern: gorgeous heroines, dashing heroes,
implausible plot lines and much dancing and singing -- a formula that has
captivated Indians for a century.
With 48 movies and counting, Chopra is one of Hindi cinema's
highest-paid actresses. She began her movie career shortly after being crowned
Miss World in 2000 and has appeared in hit Indian films playing a variety of
roles, from an autistic girl (in "Barfi," India's 2012 Oscar entry)
to a world boxing champion (in "Mary Kom") to a serial killer. In one
movie, she played 12 distinct characters.
But until now, Chopra may have been best known to American
audiences for her music. Her debut single, "In My City," featuring
entertainer will.i.am, was a theme song for the NFL's "Thursday Night
Football."
Manager Acharia-Bath said people often underestimate the
strength of Chopra's following, which reaches from Sydney to Dubai, Berlin to
Cape Town. She recalled an episode last year in which the actress, as a model
for Guess, visited the brand's flagship store in London. As word of Chopra's
presence spread on social media, fans mobbed the store and police had to shut
down Regent Street.
'A different beast'
It's been crazy-busy lately for the
"Quantico" cast and crew, who've been shooting 16-hour days in
Montreal and New York to get the 13 episodes ready for this season.
"I've only done movies in my life. Television is a
different beast," Chopra said.
Chopra's "Quantico" character becomes an unlikely
suspect in a terrorist attack on New York.
She got unexpected insight into the medium from an unlikely
source: actor Kevin Spacey, whom she met at the International Indian Film
Academy awards last year. The two conducted a film workshop class together and
exchanged notes about acting.
"He happened to mention that TV was most exciting
medium of almost everything, because he has no idea what his character (Frank
Underwood in 'House of Cards') is going to do, and I find that so true,"
said Chopra, who admits to being mostly in the dark about "Quantico's"
plot line. Audiences will learn the identity of the terrorist by the end of
season 1, she said.
Early reviews for Chopra in "Quantico" have been
positive. Entertainment Tonight named her one of three breakout stars for the
fall TV season, while The Hollywood Reporter called her "one of the most
formidable talents hitting TV this fall."
Roush said Chopra was the only "Quantico" actress
to appear at the Television Critics Association's press tour in Los Angeles in
August. "It's unusual during the press tour with a cast of that size to
present only one actor, so it's clear they see a big star in her," he
said.
For now, Chopra's plan is to straddle two performing
careers: one in the U.S. and the other in India. Next, she's working on an
Indian epic historical drama about an 18th-century Indian warrior.
"For me, success means achieving something people did
not expect you to achieve," said Chopra, who is extremely close to her
family and still feels the absence of her father, who died in 2013.
"My dad always told me -- and I always follow
this," she said. "As a girl, you should not be someone who tries to
fit into a glass slipper. You should shatter the glass ceiling, and that's what
I'm trying to do." By Chandrika Narayan, CNN
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