Bollywood superstar muscles into the North American market with music and her fierce piopic, Mary Kom

 If you were stuck in traffic on King Street West Thursday afternoon (September 4), you might have caught sight of something spectacular: a former Miss World in a black LBD, hopping out of her limo to sprint through gridlock in stilettos.

“I could run a marathon in these,” says Priyanka Chopra, the Bollywood superstar and recent pop music sensation, nonchalant about her mobility on heels.

Chopra’s direct flight from Mumbai to Toronto was delayed, causing a TIFF press conference for her new film Mary Kom to run late. When she was stuck in gridlock, Chopra decided to abandon her six massive bodyguards and entourage in the limos and hightail it to the Lightbox on foot.

The real Mary Kom would be proud of Chopra’s athletic initiative. Kom is a boxer, the first female Indian to get an Olympic medal. In order to play the titular role in the biopic that premiered at TIFF Thursday night, Chopra had to ditch her Miss World/Guess Girl physique and bulk up, enduring gruelling physical training that made her hurt in places she “didn’t’ know could hurt.”

That sprint across unsuspecting traffic was just a mild display of the results.

I caught up with Chopra in her room at a downtown hotel soon after the presser. Famished, she calls for Burger King from her entourage – she’s a fiend for junk food – but since there’s no BK around here, all they can scrounge up is some Hero Burger. I offer directions to Burger Priest… for next time.

As our interview begins, one of Chopra’s bodyguards is posted in the hallway. The other five are in the lobby, taking a break now that she’s safe from the hordes of Bollywood fans who stalked her when she landed at the airport and the Lightbox. That kind of security only seems excessive to those who don’t realize that Chopra commands crowds like Brangelina. Continue reading Radheyan Simonpillai’s interview with Priyanka at Now Magazine.

-Featured image by Kathryn Gaitens