Priyanka Chopra Jonas recollects the ‘tradition shock’ of witnessing Vijay’s stardom in Chennai

Priyanka Chopra was simply 18, new to appearing and recent off her Miss World 2000 win, when she stepped onto the set of her first movie, the Tamil manufacturing ‘Thamizhan’ in Chennai. What greeted her was a crowd of tons of who had gathered merely to look at her co-star dance. That co-star was Vijay.

Greater than twenty years after her first day on a movie set, Priyanka nonetheless remembers precisely what it felt like to look at ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay stroll in. In a latest interview on the ‘Not Skinny However Not Fats’ podcast, the actress regarded again on her Tamil debut and described the size of Vijay’s stardom as one thing that genuinely stopped her in her tracks.

“It was a film referred to as ‘Thamizhan’ within the Tamil language. I keep in mind the movie; I phonetically discovered the language. It’s nearly unattainable to be taught a very new language that rapidly. But it surely was my first publicity to fame by way of my co-actor. His title is Vijay and he’s extraordinarily standard,” Chopra recalled.

The actress described the expertise as a tradition shock that reshaped her understanding of what movie star may appear like. Watching tons of of individuals collect on set simply to see Vijay dance, she mentioned, felt like witnessing a demigod.

Past the spectacle of Vijay’s fan following, Priyanka was paying shut consideration to how he carried himself when the cameras weren’t rolling. She recalled that he had great humility on set and that after he arrived, he by no means left. He stayed, spoke to the crew, understood the pictures being taken and remained current all through the day.

It was a lesson she mentioned she nonetheless follows.

“I not often return to my trailer between pictures except there’s a lengthy wait,” she commented, emphasising that she likes to be on set, perceive why totally different pictures are being taken and communicate to the crew. What she noticed in Vijay in her very first movie turned, with out her solely realising it on the time, knowledgeable behavior she carried right into a profession that will take her from Chennai to Hollywood.

‘Thamizhan’, directed by Majith and produced by G Venkateswaran, launched on April 12, 2002 and stays Priyanka Chopra’s solely Tamil movie to this point. The film additionally gave her an surprising musical second: Vijay himself beneficial that she sing a music within the movie after he heard her buzzing on set.