I have been in love with Priyanka Chopra Jonas ever since I first saw her in Andaz. I came to know about her accomplishments in Miss India and Miss World after that, but I was already smitten. With Aitraaz that love only grew, and by the time she entered Hollywood, I was deeply engrossed in her career. So, it fills me with immense pride every time I see Priyanka breaking another barrier and setting yet another benchmark globally. Currently, the actress is busy promoting The Matrix: Resurrections, where she gets to share screen space with Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinket Smith, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Ricci and Jonathan Groff.
In a conversation with IndiaToday.in, Priyanka opened up about her memories of the first time she watched the first film of the Matrix franchise.
She said:
“I remember after watching the movie, I was trying to wear black leather, not smiling too much and having those sunglasses. I really think the Matrix franchise shifted culture and cinema and changed it forever. Those are my memories. I remember doing Neo’s bullet dodge thing so often. I remember doing it two days ago. So, it is just something so cool and iconic.”
With this fourth film in the Matrix franchise, Priyanka is sharing screen with Keanu, and the actress informed that even though predominantly in the scenes that she has with him, Keanu is just listening while she is the one talking, but she does have a very special memory with him of the first day she went on set.
The actress revealed:
“I was very intimidated coming on to a project like this, and also playing such a pivotal, special part which was foreshadowed in the last movie. I was really nervous because I had to say all my lines in the movie, and you know that is a lot of lines in one sunset. So, I had 45 minutes to say everything in front of this whole cast, especially Keanu, Carrie-Anne and Jada, as they have been reprised from previous movies. So, I was very intimidated and super nervous. But I like preparations. So, I went there prepared, and I did my job. I think Keanu recognised that I was really nervous, so he came to me end of the day, and he was like, ‘That was a very tough day, and you went through it, and you know you did a great job.’ So, just having someone like him, who has had a prolific career for almost 40 years, recognise and encourage me was wonderful. He is a great co-actor and a really nice guy.”
Priyanka reprises the role of Sati from the previous films in the franchise and the actress reveals that she has tried to give a tribute to the Indian culture through her character.
She shared:
“I think it was really important to make sure that when you see Sati, you see sort of a recognition or a glimmer of the younger girl, that was played by Tanveer Atwal. I think that it came to the hair. We wanted to have an adult version of the same hair and when it came to the wardrobe, we really wanted to make sure she looks like a warrior but there is a homage and I like to do that with my characters. There is a homage to my Indian culture, to Sati’s Indian culture. My jackets have borders of sarees in them. The pants I am wearing, we tried to make it look like a Dhoti so it has a very subtle homage to who she is, where she comes from and how proud she feels about her heritage and culture. It was very cool to do that.”
It just makes me happy cry every time I take note of where Priyanka has reached. She is not just working in projects there but she has indeed established a brand of herself. She is not just an actor but a star even there, and as an admirer of her and an Indian too, I just feel so fortunate to get to witness that. It’s just upwards and forward for the actress.