Seriously, when Priyanka Chopra won the Miss World title they should’ve crowned her the Faux Pas Queen as well. And gifted her a full-length mirror too. Does the girl honestly believe that just a lopsided smile puts you in the same classic league as Madhubala and Madhuri Dixit? There’s just one close-up of Priyanka Chopra in the recently released Krrish, and the camera practically shudders before swiftly shifting its focus elsewhere.

One isn’t being impolite but merely holding a (much-needed) mirror to the actress who came in breathlessly fresh in films like Andaaz where she naughtily hid Akshay Kumar inside her coat. It was her easy shedding of inhibitions that instantly appealed. Her hot pants, her scandalous necklines and the long, sleek slits (think Aitraaz ) put her in a glam bracket of her own. And this girl could act too, unlike, say, Mallika Sherawat who is all figure, no fun as an actress. Priyanka was miles ahead with a great bod and loads of fun in films like Andaaz and Aitraaz.

Now why on earth did Priyanka Chopra prematurely trade what she’d won (with hard work and a lot of luck) for a clich?d, serious-actress image that is not yet her stock-in-trade?

It was Priyanka the gorgeous, scheming trouser chaser of Aitraaz who easily overshadowed the bland, traditional Kareena Kapoor and caught the fancy of Rakesh Roshan. But paradoxically, the day she signed a whooper like Roshan’s Krrish which catapulted her into the big league, PC began to walk backwards.

This is the girl who was asked to name a living person who inspired her and she answered “Mother Teresa” who was long dead. Despite the faux pas, Priyanka won the Miss World crown. It was laughable even then that after winning the fiercely-fought title where she’d worn a daringly revealing gown, Priyanka had issued silly, schoolgirl statements about her “conservative family” and how they were toba, shocked at her cleavage-and-more outfit. You don’t hear Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai or even Lara Dutta (crowned Miss Universe the same year that PC became Miss World) making apologetic noises for a brazen wardrobe.

You’d think Priyanka would’ve outgrown the weak my-conservative-dad-won’t-like-it tune by the time she became a star with Aitraaz. But one Krrish did it to her. Deluded into believing that she was now ‘A’ grade ammunition, PC went to the photographer who’d done her most stunningly glamorous photo shoots and issued a fatwa that not a single frame from those sizzling sessions should be given out again ? she’d buttoned up and become a serious ‘A’ level actress you know.

For a girl who’s essentially warm and thrilled to be on top of the heap, Priyanka went at it completely wrong. Just before the release of Krrish, convinced that the blockbuster would make her the most sought-after heroine in town, she hiked her price astronomically and upped her neckline like a nun.

But film history will tell you that after Kaho Naa?Pyaar Hai , hero Hrithik Roshan became an overnight craze, not its heroine Amisha Patel. After Lagaan and Munnabhai MBBS, actors Aamir Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi climbed up the charts, not heroine Gracy Singh. If Preity Zinta survived the Hrithik-dominated Koi?Mil Gaya, it was because she was already established and knew how to dress for the camera. Unlike Priyanka who has got more flak than fame for her appearance in Krrish. One reviewer aptly called her “sartorially challenged”.

If Priyanka is to cross this shaky bridge, she just has to stop the unbecoming royal-coy act and go back to being the fun actress who was once such a delight to watch. After all, this girl’s face is certainly not her fortune.

Hey, psst!

A word of caution for our friend Rakesh Roshan who is in the counting house counting all his money (piles of it, as the Krrish collections have surpassed Fanaa in many places). Apart from the love story and the music which were a letdown, one was alarmed at the unchecked flaunting of brands ? from a misplaced Hero Honda in Singapore and Singapore city itself to Lays and Bournvita, the script conveniently made room for tonnes of in-film advertising. Few noticed that the film itself started with young Krishna’s dexterity at sketching portraits. But the skill dies after the scene and doesn’t crop up in the film ever again. Look closer. The sketch scene was woven in only to focus on Faber Castle, the colour pencil brand! So far, Rakesh Roshan has pulled it off. But the warning bells must be sounded if the script’s going to be played with to cram in the brands. Remember a man called Subhash Ghai?

Bharathi S. Pradhan is managing editor of Movie Mag International