In his early days as a director, Sunil Darshan largely related to Karisma Kapoor as his heroine. After successful collaborations in “Ajay” (1996), “Jaanwar” (1999) and “Ek Rishtaa” (2001), he collaborated with her sister Kareena Kapoor Tarash: The Hunt Begins (2003). However, in his next release Raj Kanwar’s Andaaz (2003), he ditched Kareena and instead introduced two relatively new faces: Priyanka Chopra and Lala Dutta.
Priyanka Chopra and Suneel Darshan’s first meeting
At the time, Priyanka, who was crowned Miss World 2000, had only done two films and “Andaaz” was the acting debut of Lara, who had previously won the titles of Miss Intercontinental 1997 and Miss Universe 2000. Interestingly, when Priyanka first walked into Suneel Darshan’s office, he was not immediately impressed and even found himself questioning what made her Miss World.
Suneel Darshan says Priyanka Chopra ‘looked ordinary’ at first glance
During her time in Hindi Rush, he recalls: “When I was casting, I was exposed to almost all the A-list actresses in India like Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. But that time I wanted to do something different and decided to hire two new ladies. Lara just did a photo shoot with Akshay Kumar for a magazine. So, I asked my team to call her. For the second female character, I didn’t want someone who looked similar to the first. One day, Priyanka Chopra came to my office. At first glance, I thought she looked very ordinary. I interacted with her for a few minutes and wondered “What is her style that makes her Miss World?” I kept looking at her and at one point, I realized this. “
Priyanka Chopra reminds Suneel Darshan of his youth Reka
That’s when Sunil thought she looked like a young Rekha. “Rekha ji also looks similar without makeup. ‘What if she (Priyanka) is Rekha?’ Priyanka speaks Hindi very well and is a very smart girl. She had a problem with her nose at that time which was later fixed through surgery,” he added.
Priyanka Chopra breaks through with ‘Andaaz’
According to Sunil, Andas was completed in a very short time and was released within nine months of shooting. He noted that the film was Priyanka’s real breakthrough in the industry as she made her debut in Anil Sharma’s Hero: A Spy’s Love Story (2003), in which she played a supporting role and didn’t really attract attention. He also pointed out that Priyanka is clearly different from other actresses he has worked with. “Priyanka knows who to make happy and how to treat whom,” he added.
Priyanka Chopra’s upcoming projects
Meanwhile, Priyanka Chopra was last seen in Frank E Flowers’ The Cliff (2026). She is currently busy shooting for SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi starring Mahesh Babu and has Mira Nair’s Amri and Nicholas Stoller’s Judgment Day in her upcoming films.