Priyanka Chopra as Mary Kom in Mary Kom

Iam nervous, tired and sleep deprived… but mostly nervous. Very, very nervous,” was the first thing Priyanka Chopra said when we met the actress in Mumbai recently. Dressed in a DvF leopard-print dress, with open hair and minimal make-up, Priyanka looked anything but nervous as she headed in for an early screening of Friday film Mary Kom with her friends and family. Before heading into the theatre, Priyanka sat down for a quick round (minus gloves) with t2.

When you were offered the film, did you know about Mary Kom?

I pride myself on keeping abreast of current news, but I didn’t know much about Mary. All I knew was that she had won an Olympic bronze medal (in London 2012). When I started reading the script, I was riveted because her story works on so many different levels. It is a sports film... a woman’s coming-of age film... a film about the Northeast. Her life is so inspirational. It’s a shame that people didn’t know her story. You know what she told me recently? Mary said: ‘I have represented my country in so many arenas, but people didn’t know me until Priyanka Chopra decided to tell my story’.

Did you have any reservations about doing the film?

You’ve known me for almost as long as I have been in the industry, right? So you know that I am the first person to jump at something that is ‘different’... at a film that people think will not work or that I shouldn’t do. I have always believed in breaking the mould. I like pushing the envelope without worrying about whether the audience likes what I am doing or not. All my colleagues are more successful than I am today, but I am only interested in being a game-changer. What is the point of life if you are not taking risks? I signed on this film as soon as it was offered to me.

What you seem to have in common with Mary is being fearless and driven…

These are two qualities that I admire most about Mary. She doesn’t care about what the world says. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to go after it, regardless of the circumstances. Everyone discouraged her from playing a contact sport. She didn’t have money for proper gloves. But none of these obstacles stopped her from pursuing her dream.

My parents gave me wings. They always told me that I could be anyone and anything I chose to be. All I needed was to work to the best of my abilities and that’s exactly how I have built my career. I guess you can call this being fearless. But I don’t wake up in the morning thinking, ‘I am going to be fearless today’. I might have made choices not expected of a Bollywood actress, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get scared. I am petrified about how this film is going to be received.

Did it make it easier to play the character because you understood her psyche?

I am not an actor who believes in finding a connection with the character. An actor’s job, in my limited experience, is to create a character. There are billions of people in the world and everyone is different. I can’t find something similar with every character I play. I have nothing in common with Jhilmil (Barfi!) or Nandita (Gunday), so I create the character in my head.

Mary Kom was a really tough film for me because I look nothing like her. To play a living, breathing person who is about your age and not looking like her just makes things tougher. The audience has seen her over the years on magazine covers and TV shows. My biggest challenge is to make people believe that I am Mary Kom. So I delved into every minute detail of her life.

How involved was Mary in the making of the film?

When we started shooting, Mary had just delivered her third baby and was getting back to training. So she couldn’t be there for the shooting, but before we started she’d tell Omung (Kumar, the film’s director) and me anecdotes. I went to live with her in a village for a couple of days and visited her school, church and gym and just about every place in the area connected with her. I think she was embarrassed about how much I was stalking her! (Laughs)

You boxed with real boxers and trained with her team of trainers… it must have hurt?

Mary is a left-hander while I use my right hand. So even after I learnt the basics of boxing, it was really tough for me to learn her style and technique. Which is why I am thankful that I got to work with her coaches because they helped me get the nuances right. As for the real boxers, well… let me just say I have given my khoon-paseena to this film! (Laughs)

You shot Mary Kom when you were going through a tough time personally…

Yes, I started shooting the film four days after I lost my dad. (Pauses) This was the last script that dad heard… which is also why this film is so special to me. Dad’s first reaction after he heard the script was: ‘Don’t play this like a heroine’. I was very offended! But I took what he said very seriously… I trained like an athlete for this film. I didn’t want to let dad down.

Actress, singer and now you are turning producer (with Madhur Bhandarkar’s Madamji). Are you spreading yourself too thin?

Hmm…. When I am as tired and exhausted as I am right now, I start to think that I have taken on more than I can handle. (Pauses) But I am an achiever and that’s what achievers do. If you don’t try, how are you going to grow? I want to break barriers… do things that haven’t been done before. No one should tell you what you can or can’t dream to achieve. This is why this film is so important for me. I really believe there is a Mary Kom in each of us. So what if I am a rice farmer’s daughter or grew up in a small town… each one of us had to be ziddi to get what we want to. (Pauses) I think ziddi is a good adjective to describe both Mary and me.

When was the last time you took time off?

(Laughs) It’s been a couple of years… oh ya, I was in Puerto Rico for New Year’s with my mom and brother for about 10 days.

Living life at this pace can’t be easy. Do you plan to slow down anytime soon?

This is the pace that my life is at. If something drastic happens, the pace will change only then. I don’t plan my life, so to speed up or slow down things is not really in my hands.

What is happening on the music front?

I had to take some time off to make Zoya’s (Akhtar) film (Dil Dhadakne Do). After almost two months of sailing around the Mediterranean, I got back for the promotions of Mary Kom. After I finish Zoya’s film and before Madamji starts, I’ll go back to LA to work on my music.

Is there anything else that you want to try your hand at?

For now, the next new thing for me is production. When I joined the industry, I didn’t know anyone or anything. I want to help new talent find their place under the sun. The initial idea was to start a baby production house that promotes new talent in all departments — from acting to music and writing. It just happened that Madhur came to me with Madamji and I thought it would be a great way for us to get a foothold in the production space.