'I work on nervous energy’: Priyanka Chopra

Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra’s calendar is choc-a-bloc. Over the last few months she has either been shooting for her upcoming film or promoting her latest single which has just released now. The actress has had a good run at the box office with her last two films Krishh 3 and Gunday turning out to be 100-crore hits. When she travels to the West, mostly for her music, she is seen hobnobbing with the who’s who of Hollywood. “I’m living out of a suitcase,” Priyanka says with a laugh.

The actress-turned-singer has been supporting the cause of educating the girl child. “If a certain section of people takes my word seriously, I’ll go out of my way to reach out to them,” she says, adding, “Being a known singer and actor in India and internationally, I have a platform to voice my opinion. If I manage to make even a 10 per cent difference in the society, its approach and its thinking, I’ll consider myself a winner,” she says.

She credits her parents for teaching her to follow her heart. PC says that her parents have always been completely supportive of her personal and professional decisions. “Every time I thought I was limiting myself, they ensured that I expand my horizons and never reach a saturation point.”

She may be living out of a suitcase, but Priyanka is happy travelling the world. Her new single has just launched in New York and she is happy with the response. “I was in Tampa Bay for the IIFA awards. A lot of my co-stars and friends asked me if I was jetlagged or tired. But you know, I don’t get jetlagged anymore. I work on nervous energy,” PC says with a laugh.

The multi-faceted actress, in spite of a busy schedule, continues to be very attached to her family, especially her mother. “I used to think that I can handle the show all by myself but I’ve just realised that I need my mother around me all the time. I’ve always been very close to my parents. But now I spend more time with my mother and brother.”

On the professional front, she had worked on a perfectly toned physique to play Mary Kom in Sanjay Bhansali’s biopic on the Olympic boxing champion. And now she has to lose it all to get into her role in Zoya Akhtar’s new film. Priyanka says, “I had worked out so hard to achieve this toned body. I needed to because I had to look like the real Mary Kom. Now that the shoot is over, I feel so complete as an actor.”

But there’s no time to rest. “In a few weeks I will start Zoya’s next film. The other day I met her and she categorically said that she wanted me to lose all the muscle fat and look dainty. She told me I don’t want you to have more muscles than the hero of my film,” she says.