Comparing trajectories of two accomplished women in cinema yields some surprising revelations and preconceived notions.
A little over two and half decades ago, a British Immigrant from Wales moved to the United States. Catherine Zeta Jones had a relatively successful career in Britain. Her repertoire included music, theater, and a meaty role in a popular television series. She had a large fan following, but they were limited mostly to her home country and a few Anglophiles around the globe.
Flash forward, and a top movie star from the Indian cine firmament comes to try her luck in the US. She has acted in over 55 films in India.She snags a lead role in the television series, Quantico. It’s a risk she takes, as she leaves the Indian film industry in a peak position to try something completely new. Her name is Priyanka Chopra.
Catherine Zeta Jones’ initial popularity was confined to British audiences, but Priyanka Chopra strength lay in numbers. She left a huge fan following in country of over a billion, and its neighbors: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and many others from the Middle East have Priyanka fans. To the uninitiated, Indian movies are popular in other countries. They are subtitled or sometimes dubbed in the local languages. Several Latin American and Eastern Bloc countries are familiar with Indian cinema.
Fame visited Priyanka early. She won the Miss World crown in her teens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk-Yf-UliGwF
Ironically, Catherine in her most recent role essays Vicki Ellis, a ruthless pageant coach.
In the United States, Catherine found Hollywood royalty in Michael Douglas, and she married him. Starstruck at being addressed as Mrs.Michael Douglas, she got a fairy tale wedding she always imagined. Post marriage however, she stayed with her maiden name. (Chopra has added on the Jonas to her name)
The age difference between Catherine and Michael is only 25 years. The wedding was held at the Plaza in NYC, and it was largely paid for with the publicity generated. Guests were requested to donate to their then-baby Dylan’s trust fund in lieu of gifts.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbpIVpGAEZt/?utm_source=ig_embed.
“Pundits said the celebs shrewdly sold their exclusive photo rights to Brit magazine OK! for a supposed $1.4 million; OK!, in turn, allegedly received $800,000 from People for the rights to republish the images.” -ABC News.
The Chopra-Jonas wedding is believed to have generated enough money from publicity to cover most or all of their wedding celebrations. Despite the interest in the wedding, Priyanka’s accused of being greedy, ambitious, and a ” global scam-artist,” to name a few. Of course, she is older than the husband by nearly a decade.
In terms of net worth, both Jonas and Chopra are equals. However, to the uninformed, Chopra has also attained the “gold digger” moniker. No one called Ashton Kutcher this, when he married the heavy-weight Demi Moore. Instead, the misogynistic world constantly judged Demi Moore harsher than Michael Douglas whose wife is 25 years younger.
Chopra channels the ethnically ambiguous archetype. Unfortunately, Hollywood chooses not to discern where it must. She played the part Indian Alex Parrish in Quantico. On the other hand, Catherine Zeta Jones played roles of varied ethnicities. The Welsh actress plays the Oklahoman Vicki Ellis despite a giveaway Welsh lilt in Queen America. It’s difficult to explain Hollywood’s ease in dispensing roles without scrutiny. How does one explain the role of Catherine essaying Griselda Blanco? This is not to put down Zeta Jones, but the casting demonstrates that authenticity in Hollywood rings hollow.
Chopra has shown mettle in trying to break the mold. She may not be the preferred face for all girls. It’s undeniable she has given a chance for several brown girls everywhere to dream. Many others have tried before and failed. This is a lonely path fraught with challenges. After all this time, Vogue put the first global Indian actress on the cover for the January 2019 issue. No prizes for guessing the identity of this actress.
People have all kinds of opinions. Regarding the Zeta-Douglas marriage, reactions range from mild criticism, acceptance, and even approval. It’s a successful yet unusual union. Reactions to the Chopra-Jonas union however is vociferously in stark contrast. Chopra’s skewered in several platforms for being the older one. Surprisingly, females are sometimes the ones to judge their kind in the harshest manner possible.
An article in a web platform called The Cut referred to Priyanka as a “global scam-artist.” It will do well for the writer to brush up on popular world culture. Priyanka has a 32.4 million followers on the ‘Gram. The Indian cinema is a large market, and those who criticize Chopra would do well to be informed in this regard. Sometimes a lack of curiosity about other cultures also plays a part. Yet, it boggles the mind how certain outlets allow personal insults to pass as journalism.
The above mentioned unions are personal choices. It’s almost impossible to avoid judging celebrities in this internet age. The article by Mariah Smith in The Cut is taken down now. The author and the platform have apologized, but the scathing opinion piece should not have come to light in the first place. It’s disrespectful and a fake piece of opinion peddling.
The Chopra-Jonas coupling may be unconventional. Here’s wishing them a successful union, just because schadenfreude should not fuel the web.
Photograph courtesy Priyanka Chopra and Catherine Zeta Jones’ Instagram
Video Courtesy Youtube posted by Vkblogs
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