Priyanka Chopra is a role model for many, including me. Of course, I do not know her as a person. I, like millions, know her through her work, her social work, and so on. Last week, when I found out that her American television show, “Quantico”, airing on ABC had been cancelled, I just genuinely felt bad.
Now, I am no fan of “Quantico”. Honestly, I didn’t like the show. I lost interest in it midway through Season 1, and I haven’t looked back since. It’s one of those stories that you lose interest in because the plot line stopped appealing to you. But, I did sincerely hope that Miss Chopra would keep conquering the world in the way she wished to.
I admire the fact that she chose to go international. It’s something each one of us secretly wishes to do. What I didn’t admire, however, is how ill-received her decision was amongst the ‘nationalist’ crowd. What I found shocking was how her contemporary co-actors and co-stars mocked her for wanting to go international, much like an extension of the ‘nationalist’ crowd.
Priyanka Chopra, however, never bothered herself with any of that. She has noted in numerous interviews about how people would tell her that her decision to go international could be career-ending. I admire her because she did what she wanted to do, what she desired to do.
This time, after “Quantico” was cancelled, I was again annoyed and shocked by the mentality of Indians, both men and women”. I came across a number of tweets and other social media interactions where people claimed that “Quantico” should have been cancelled a long time ago and that Miss Chopra should have never left the country, to begin with.
They have been brutally trolling her, taunting her because she ‘dared’ to leave the country and now she’s failing. They are ecstatic. I looked at the tweets that essentially made the cancellation of the show look like some ‘karmic’ backlash for her daring to leave the country. Some of them hoped Miss Chopra would learn a lesson or two from this.
Now, I know that Priyanka Chopra will brush “Quantico” off. She is capable of learning from her failures, and moving on to bigger and better things. But this toxic nationalist mindset of the Indians is what bothers me.
You could watch mindless saans-bahu serials running for almost a decade and remain unfazed about boulder size plot holes in the storyline. So, obviously, the “Quantico” plot was never a problem to you.
The problem was that she went international. Of course, there have been other actors who went international, such as, Aishwarya Rai, Anil Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, and so many more, but for some reason, you had a massive problem with Priyanka Chopra going international. Her colleagues had a problem with it, with her, with her accent, and what not.
This is her career. So, it’s obviously, her decision. Her failures are her own just as her successes are. Life is a rollercoaster ride. There are ups, and there are downs. Sure, criticise an artist’s work. But before you taunt the person, really think about it.
Use your common sense to realise that “Quantico” getting cancelled has literally nothing to do with Priyanka Chopra or her sense of ‘nationalism’, even though it probably makes to her list of failures. It got cancelled because of a loose plot, and there are writers and showmakers to be held responsible for that.
Additionally, you know what I think? It is the weird toxic nationalist mindset with a hint of misogyny that makes you think the way you do. You cannot take a woman who works her way to the top. You cannot tolerate her. You cannot stand anything from her dresses to her opinions. And you are limited by your own imaginations of a woman’s independence.
Yes, she makes mistakes, as you all do. She has dips in her career graph, as you all do. She is evolving, as you all are. And me? Well, I believe Priyanka Chopra is human enough to make mistakes but going international is not one of them. She makes me a proud Indian, and if you don’t know what that means, you should stop with your nationalism. Also, she makes me a proud woman, but that’s a moot point because you’re already a misogynist with little imagination.