Parineeti Chopra is back in town after hosting a surprise birthday for her sister Priyanka Chopra Jonas. She is ready to kick-start promotions for her upcoming film Jabariya Jodi. Talking about her hectic schedule, the actor says, “I travelled a lot in July. I went from Mumbai to Frankfurt, Germany, then Miami, USA. Once I reached Miami they (friends and family) didn’t let me sleep and then I travelled soon after to London. From there I went to Delhi then finally to Ahmedabad. Nick [Jonas] and I had decided that we would surprise Mimi didi for her birthday. It was a bit hectic as I was there for just two days. But I didn’t want to miss this for anything. This was her first birthday post marriage.”
On Jabariya Jodi, the 30-year-old says, “When Ekta Kapoor told me that she is making a film on the concept of ‘pakadwah vivah’ (forced marriages) I thought it was going to be a boring, arty and serious kind of film. But I kept laughing throughout the script’s narration. Writer-director Prashant Singh had to literally repeat the scenes during the session. The narration and the dialogues were so entertaining that I immediately agreed to do it.”
Parineeti will be seen after a gap of five years opposite Sidharth Malhotra. The duo was last seen in Vinil Mathew’s Hasee Toh Phasee in 2014. “Sidharth did his second film with me. We’ve been good friends and keep socialising together. We also went for the Dream Team Tour of USA in 2016 along with Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and other actors.”
The film is set to hit the theatres on August 2 and deals with societal issues in an entertaining format comprising song and dance sequences. “Sidharth’s character Abhay helps couples who want to marry but are restricted to do so because of dowry. It is not a well-known fact that forced marriages happen a lot in Uttar Pradesh belt. It is a serious issue and people should know about it. The film highlights depicts how the dowry system still exists while it should have been eradicated by now. I hope the film will show it in a new light,” says the actor.
After having done several films based on stories from the Hindi heartland, Parineeti wants to try different genres. “I was launched with films such as Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, Ishaqzaade and Shuddh Desi Romance. My first three films were not glamorous at all. The audience woke up to content in those films. I didn’t have a clichéd launch. I am lucky that I started at a time when that transition to content-driven films happened and I could work on my performance. But now, I would like to do glamorous roles as well.”
She is on a path to break the norm and do roles that will change her current image. “ So far, people have been casting me in roles that I can carry off well or roles that suit me. But I no longer want to play characters that are repetitive in nature. The next three films that I am doing will break my comfort mode hopefully. I’m starting to shoot now for a project which is based on the book The Girl On The Train. I’m also doing Abhishek Dudhaiya’s Bhuj: The Pride Of India where I play the real-life character of Heena Rehman.”
The actor seems to be on a mission to change her image. Before beginning to shoot for Saina Nehwal’s biopic, Parineeti has decided to train in badminton to refrain from using “a body double or VFX or faking it”. “No one can imagine me in a sports film. It’s a role that I haven’t done before. I want to prove myself and do roles that can challenge me. All of us can play badminton but when you play as a professional, you will realise that you are holding the racquet wrong. So, I had to start from the basics. I am practicing the sport every day before we begin shooting.
As I shoot for Girl On the Train’s remake, my team is going to accompany me and train me for badminton in London. The Girl On The Train remake is completely deglamorous. I think sometimes people confuse deglam with content-driven. I can still look good in a film that has a good story. My makeup man and hairstylist are going to accompany me to London but they will have no work while I shoot for both the films,” says the actor triumphantly.