Priyanka Chopra talks gender inequality at IIFA

Priyanka Chopra, who plays a submissive daughter in her latest release Dil Dhadakne Do, says gender inequality does exist in affluent societies.

“My character Ayesha represents most women in India. They are put in a box and can’t raise their voice no matter from how affluent or educated a society they belong to. Gender equality does really exist in such societies too. It was beautiful to be Ayesha and I could relate to the character because I belong to a conservative Punjabi family and I took inspiration from my own family. There was a lot of resistance when I joined the industry. But later my parents gave me wings and let me do what I wanted to,” Priyanka said on the sidelines of IIFA Weekend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The actress said it was tough for her to play the unassertive role in the Zoya Akhtar-directed film just after her strong character in Mary Kom.

“It was an extremely hard transition for me. I played a tomboyish role in Mary Kom but Ayesha was more towards the stifled side. I completely relied on Zoya for the first 10 days but later I got my feminine side back,” she said.

In the film, Priyanka also made her debut in Bollywood playback singing with co-star Farhan Akhtar, who plays her love interest. The duo has sung the title track of Dil Dhadakne Do together.

Asked if she takes Farhan as a strong competitor, she said, ”No competition with Farhan. I was shy about singing and Farhan encouraged me during the shooting of Don. We used to have a jam session. He only nudged me on to sing.”

“ I wish I had the guts to do rock shows like him,” she added.

Farhan was also all praise for her. “I’ve always told her that she has a great voice. Her voice has an expressive quality. Even if you just listen to the audio, you can see her performing it,” said Farhan.