‘Priyanka Chopra has achieved so much more than we had hoped for': Tarun Mansukhani recalls predicting Desi Girl's global journey

Indian Express

2 days ago

Seventeen years after his directorial debut, Tarun Mansukhani has finally delivered another box office success in Housefull 5. His first film was the 2008 romantic comedy Dostana, starring Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bachchan, and John Abraham, and produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions.
Mansukhani said that filming the popular dance song 'Desi Girl' was a milestone in Chopra's now-storied career which has gone beyond Indian shores to Hollywood. But the Dostana director remembers the exact moment when he predicted Chopra's meteoric rise — while making her listen to 'Desi Girl' for the first time.
'I made her sit in the car, I put the CD on, and – I think she'll be able to tell you this as well – before I played the song, I said to her: 'No matter how big you become, no matter where you go in life, they will always refer to you as this.' And I played the song. I knew from that moment that this girl was going to be beyond global. Because when I heard the song, I thought, 'Oh my God, this girl… it is just her,'' Mansukhani told India Today.
'Of course, we always imagine the best for our friends, right? We want them to be the richest, happiest people in the world. But she has surpassed all of that, beyond anything we could've imagined. She has achieved so much more than we even hoped for her,' he added, describing his friendship with Chopra as 'deep' and 'karmic'.
'We're not on the phone every day. We talk very rarely – it's mostly just chats or Instagram shares. But the connection we have is something that feels meant to be. I can call her up at any point in time and tell her my worst things or my best things without feeling judged – and I know it works the other way around too,' he explained.
Tarun Mansukhani claimed his bond with Priyanka Chopra is a rare one in the Hindi film industry which doesn't operate on agenda. 'We've never had a friendship that was about work. It was never, 'Oh, we need to be friends because then we can work together.' She might think I'm a good director. I think she's the most fabulous actor. But that has never even for a moment entered our friendship. And that's what makes it so pure. I truly love the relationship and friendship I share with her,' said Mansukhani.
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Priyanka Chopra, who became synonymous with the term 'Desi Girl' post Dostana, made her international acting debut by headlining the spy thriller show Quantico for three seasons. She'll next be seen in Hollywood movies Heads of State and The Bluff, along with season 2 of Russo Brothers' spy thriller show Citadel on Prime Video.