In The Bluff, Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays a former Caribbean pirate whose secret past is revealed when her island is invaded by vicious buccaneers. The swashbuckling thriller, directed by Frank E. Flowers, puts Priyanka at the front and centre of the action, with actors like Karl Urban, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Safia Oakley-Green, and Temuera Morrison, making up the rest of the rich ensemble cast. The film also has Priyanka doing dual duties as producer — her debut in Hollywood on that front — alongside heavyweights like Amazon MGM Studios and Avengers men Russo Brothers’s AGBO.

Scheduled to release globally on Prime Video on February 25, The Bluff has Priyanka in the role of the feisty and fiery Ercell Bodden, aka “Bloody Mary”, executing some raw and visceral action set pieces even as she holds on to the strong emotional core of the story.

ACTION & EMOTION

“This was one of the hardest films I have ever done... physically, emotionally,” a luminous PCJ told t2 over a virtual early morning interaction this week. She outlined the tricky tightrope she had to navigate, given that the intense dramatic nucleus of The Bluff mandated that the action scenes be carried out with a blend of raw, visceral power and a certain amount of vulnerability. “This is a drama, so it is important for the audience to see my face in every moment of the action because I am conveying the emotions that my character is feeling. For example, the invasion scene at the beginning of the film has me fighting, but I am also talking to my child (who has taken refuge in a hidden recess). Hence, the action needed to have vulnerability and fierceness together. That was the challenge of this film.”

She also reiterated that the action in The Bluff is different from what we get to see in much of contemporary cinema. “It is not only slick fighting where one has to just look cool and film slow-motion shots. It is actual drama where the plot moves forward even as my character is mercilessly killing the bad guys. Physically, that was very tough.”

A NEW CHALLENGE

Working on the action in The Bluff — that is set in the Cayman Islands but was shot in Australia — also brought in a new challenge for the actor who, though never positioned as an action star in Hindi cinema, has found her whack-thwack groove in Hollywood in the form of bona fide action outings in Citadel, The Matrix Resurrections, Heads of State, and even Baywatch. “Before The Bluff, I had never worked with swords and blades, though I had used a fair bit of knives,” Priyanka told t2.

The use of what was already new weaponry for the versatile actor brought in a fresh set of challenges. “I had to be ambidextrous, as in use the swords with both hands. That was a huge challenge. I was filming Heads of State right before The Bluff. I only had one week off in the middle. And so I used to train with my swords on set while the next shot was being set up. My trainer for both the projects was Anisha Gibbs and she really worked hard with me with those swords.”

What comes across as slick and seamless in The Bluff, Priyanka maintained, involved a lot of hard work, including “sticking to the plan”. “You have to be there. There are no timelines, you do the work that is required to be done. Everyone involved in this project was so passionate and we all wanted to make something excellent. Hence, you show up,” she said, smiling that familiar full-toothed Priyanka Chopra smile.

The Bluff came in with a host of reasons that made Priyanka, 43, say “yes”, not only as an actor, but also as producer. “I really loved the world that we were going into. It was so unique and so interesting. (In cinema), I haven’t seen anything about pirate life during the British colonial era and how their lives used to be. Plus, the fact that it was the East India Company and my character’s family in the movie are shown to be indentured servants, which is so true to the history of our country as well as the history of the world... stories of being displaced from their country as workers. It still happens right now... Prithvi’s (Prithviraj Sukumaran) movie The Goat Life talks about it. That was so interesting for me... I was sucked in as an artiste to be able to time travel,” said Priyanka.

ROOTS & WINGS

What also appealed to the ‘Desi Girl’ was the fact that her character is Indian. “I loved the fact that she is Indian. She has lost touch with her Indian roots and become more Caribbean. So to be able to represent the Indian-Caribbean community was very exciting to me.”

Her collaborators on the project also clinched the deal for Priyanka. “This is just (director) Frank E. Flowers’s second feature film, but I knew he was a natural born leader. Also, I was keen on working with the Russos, who are very particular about who they work with and the movies that wear their brand. I have done multiple collaborations with Amazon and they are the best to work with. As a collective, everything came together for this movie to happen and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I am really happy I did it.”

Having established herself firmly on the global scene and steadily going from strength to strength, Priyanka now says that her focus remains on acing her acting projects as well as being mindful of what she associates with as a producer, through her company Purple Pebble Pictures.

“Yesterday, we had a premiere (of The Bluff) at the TCL Chinese Theatre, which is such an iconic venue in Los Angeles. I remember seeing so many pictures of incredible movie stars outside of that theatre, and then to be able to see my movie, which is the first that I am leading as a producer in Hollywood, present there was a beautiful, surreal moment for me,” smiled Priyanka.

THE PATH AHEAD

In describing her headspace as a creative force, she said that she needed to bifurcate it into two aspects, as actor and producer, both at present and in the future. “As an actor, I want to be able to do a lot more genre-defining work in my English language filmography... do more diverse parts and (work with) interesting filmmakers. I have a lot of work that I want to do here. As a producer, I want to continue being able to support newer filmmakers. As a company, Purple Pebble Pictures has been built on the foundation of wanting to support new talent in the industry, whether that is writers or filmmakers, and give them the shoulder to get to wherever their dreams might want to take them,” said Priyanka.

“I love working with filmmakers who have the passion and drive, like Frank E. Flowers, to want to make something amazing. So, as a company, we are continuing to seek that and push those kind of collaborations,” signed off PCJ.