The highest-paid actress in India almost always is a powerful person. You don’t get to command such fees without a certain influence in the film industry. But very recently, the actress who held this tag, found out that her influence and place was uder threat and she was reportedly cornered into leaving not just Bollywood but also India. This is the story of how a successful National Award-winner left Hindi films at her peak.
The highest-paid actress cornered into leaving Bollywood
Statista reveals that as of 2023, India’s highest-paid actress is Priyanka Chopra, who earned Rs 40 crore per project, largely due to her Prime Video web series Citadel. She beat several big names liks Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Kangana Ranaut, and Alia Bhatt. Priyanka has held this tag, on and off, for about a decade, trading places with Deepika and Katrina in certain years. And yet, she has not been a part of Bollywood for several years.
In 2023, speaking on Dax Shepherd's podcast Armchair Expert, Priyanka said that she had a ‘beef’ with some people in Bollywood and she felt ‘cornered’. "I was being pushed into a corner in the (Hindi film) industry. I had people not casting me for reasons. I had beef with people. I am not good at playing that game so I kind of was tired of the politics and I said I needed a break,” she had said. Later in the year, at a press conference for Citadel in Mumbai, she clarified her comments, saying she felt safe to speak about it now.
When Priyanka Chopra left India
In the mid-2010s, Priyanka was easily the most successful actress in Hindi films, having given solo hits like Mary Kom and been part of blockbusters like Bajirao Mastani and Krrish 3. She was also a National Award winner and given critically-acclaimed hits like Barfi. Yet, after 2016, Priyanka moved base to the US where she starred in the TV series Quantico. This was followed by supporting roles in several films, including The Matrix Resurrections, before landing a lead role in Citadel during the pandemic. The actress has worked in only one Hindi film in the last eight years – the 2019 release The Sky Is Pink. Priyanka currently lives in Los Angeles with husband Nick Jonas. The two have a daughter named Malti Marie.
