Priyanka Chopra Remembers Early Days In Hollywood, Says 'I Was Told Non-English Films Don't...'

Actor Priyanka Chopra, who has been making her name at International level, was honoured with an honorary award at the Red Sea Film Festival for her contributions to cinema. After receiving this award, Priyanka recalled the early days of her career and the challenges she faced to get roles globally.

Priyanka Chopra received the award from actor Sarah Jessica Parker at the film festival. In her acceptance speech, she shared how she was told that 'films with subtitles or films that are non-English don’t travel' due to her background in Hindi and Telugu films.

She said, “When I started working, I was 18 years old. I remember I was told that, I come from an industry that spoke Hindi and Telugu, non-English films. I remember when I was seeking work across borders, I was told that films with subtitles or films that are non-English don’t travel. Yet, here we are today."

Praising the Red Sea Film Festival for being a platform for filmmakers and storytellers, she added, "You have been able to create a safe, incredible space for filmmakers and storytellers around the world to come together without the thought of nationality, language and borders… We get to tell stories for a living, we get to dream for a living… you have been able to bring people together outside of borders, languages to just celebrate this incredible medium of cinema."

In her speech, Priyanka also thanked her husband Nick Jonas and also remembered her father, who she called her "first entertainer". She stated, “I just want to thank my family for their unwavering support. My wonderful husband is here, waiting to escort me down, the gentleman that he is." Talking about her dad, the actress said, “My parents, my father was the first entertainer I ever knew. I lost him in 2013. But he showed me how much joy there is in being the person in the middle of a party. If there was a crowd at a party, my dad would be in the middle of it. He was that person. He showed me how unabashed entertainer can be, how completely confident and completely vulnerable at the same time, it can be."