Vishal Bhardwaj’s Kaminey is a classic example of how a fine director can polish an actor and turn him/her into a performer. Both Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra were applauded for their impeccable acts in the Vishal Bhardwaj directed opus.
To churn out another hit on the back of a mega-hit is a daunting task. Saat Khoon Maaf suffered from this syndrome and has been widely panned by the media. Be it a clear case of wide media speculation or over-expectation from the masses, the movie has been a critical and commercial failure. The trade pundits are surprised, the arm chair critics are confused and the director is getting his act together for a comeback success. Rumour has it that Priyanka is no longer a strong contender for Vishal’s next directorial venture – an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s novel Two States.
The actress has taken up challenging roles in her career – be it of a villain in Aitraaz or her challenging portrayal of twelve characters in What’s Your Rashee. If we take a look at Priyanka’s work, she has worked with the finest directors. Her role in Fashion was an author backed role. She has given hits and also one of the most talked about duds. Her movies like Love Story 2050, Drona, God Tussi Great Ho or Anjaana Anjaani are so bad that they are now a standard measure against how other bad movies are rated!
The fact that she is one of the most sought after A-league actresses in the industry is credited to the fact that she has no real competition. Rani Mukherjee is in a desperate stage almost towards the end of a wonderful career, Preity Zinta is happily out of the race concentrating on her business acumen, Kareena Kapoor is concentrating more on commercial cinema (Khan starrers), Katrina Kaif is usually not a preferred choice for author backed roles, Kangna Ranaut is perceived as a niche actress while Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor are the fashion sirens. It is too early to slot the new firebrand Anushka Sharma, but the girl does shows promise.
Priyanka has been a classic example of how good working relations with the stars in the industry can do wonders to your career. Her PR skills and sharp wit have helped salvage her position. In her public appearances she continues to bear the fashionista streak in her demeanor that she exhibited in Dostana – be it the short dresses, makeup or the way she speaks. According to the rumour mill, she has also been under the knife for the perfect pout which is pretty evident in Anjaana Anjaani. These days she is more talked about with the alleged relationship with Shahid that she categorically denies or the now infamous IT raid that created quite a stir.
In no way we can discount her for taking up roles that are challenging and even risky, but we cannot ignore the fact that the directors are to be widely acknowledged for creating such roles. For now, the industry and the fans are waiting for her upcoming major releases – Don 2, Krrish 2 and Agneepath. We hope the releases are both commercial and critical successes. The world will again forgive and forget her duds as it did when she was crowned Miss World 2000 despite the goofed up answer! After all, Mother Teresa is a savior for most of the beauty queens and directors like Vishal are savior for most of the actresses.
