7 facts about birthday girl Priyanka Chopra you may not know

1. Priyanka was the first choice for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi . In fact she had been finalized for the part. Costumes, dates, remuneration were being discussed when overnight, SLB decided to go with Alia Bhatt instead.

Incidentally, this is not the only Bhansali project which Priyanka lost. She was also penciled in to play the author-poet Amrita Pritam in the bio-pic on poet-lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi to be directed by Jasmeet(Darlings) Reen. But Priyanka didn’t want to work with Abhishek Bachchan who was finalized for the part of Sahir.

2. Nick Jonas is not the first Caucasian entertainer Priyanka dated. In 2009 when Scottish actor Gerard Butler visited India and he fell head-over-heels in love with the gorgeous Chopra. They allegedly had a brief liaison which, allegedly, eventuated in Priyanka’s breakup with Shahid Kapoor.

3. Priyanka Chopra is a ferocious foodie. She loves Indian delicacies, the more calorie-filled the better. Her favourite used to be aloo ka paratha with ghee swimming on top. We’ve shared this meal together and I’ve seen her tucking in with open-mouthed stupefaction.

4. Priyanka was the first choice for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s role in J P Dutta’s Umrao Jaan. The then-new Ms Chopra didn’t know what hit her when Dutta, in an overnight betrayal, replaced Priyanka with Ms Rai. Even Priyanka’s costumes were ready. Dutta wouldn’t take Priyanka or her father’s calls for an explanation. She cried bitterly. But never complained. Priyanka is a fighter , not a whiner. Some said it was sweet justice since Priyanka had similarly replaced Aishwarya in Rohan Sippy’s Bluff Master.

5. Her first BIG HIT was Suneel Darshan’s Andaaz. The film introduced two beautiful beauty-pageant winners Priyanka and Lara Dutta. Lara had the meatier, more sympathetic role and she was the one pampered on the sets. Everyone thought Lara among the two, was the potential superstar. Priyanka did all the hot stuff with Akshay in the film. For one sequence she was ‘dressed’ in a towel and Akshay had to get into the towel with her. Priyanka told me she cringed and wept but went ahead silently. The bindaas sassy image is just that, an image. Priyanka is a really private person at heart.

6. Priyanka’s boyfriend when she entered the industry was a certain model-actor Aseem Merchant. The relationship ended soon enough, and was followed by Harman Baweja which was a very happy relationship while it lasted. For the record, she left both, though not for another relationship. She was then in a very serious relationship with Shahid Kapoor, which came to an end after a fleeting fling with Gerard Butler. There have been others. But she has finally found true love.

7. The move to the West was not entirely a spontaneous decision. Priyanka was in some ways forced to move out. Several A-list heroes Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan , Salman Khan to name the Top 3, were off limits for Priyanka. She had two choices. She could play the hero in her films, a la Kangana, or move. She chose to move. And what a move.