PRIYANKA CHOPRA: Talks Music, Acting, Guess & Being Adored Globally

Editorial

Feb 12, 2014 @ 1:00 pm By Galore Girl

Bombshell actress Priyanka Chopra has recently made her transition into music and we’re so pleased she’s talking to us about in our new issue. She also discusses being an international star, what she most looks forward to after a day of work and her goals for this year.

Photography: Jakob Dekat

Creative Direction: Prince Chenoa

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What is the biggest difference between Bollywood and Hollywood?

To me, making movies is the same whether you’re in Bollywood or Hollywood. However one difference is that Bollywood is the largest film producer in the world and churns out more than 1,000 movies each year. I typically make 4 movies in a year, compared to Hollywood, where making one film is the norm. Bollywood films are also best known for their music, dance, and love stories.

Did you find the transition from actress to musician an easy one?

It’s very different, and scary, actually. As an actor, your job is to literally become someone else. I’ve been acting for so long, so it’s become second nature for me. With music, particularly when you write music, you have to dig really deep inside of who YOU are and translate that onto a piece of paper and into a song. Making music is about feeling what you’re singing – it is an emotionally driven art and I think my album really reflects that. I’m quite moody, and the songs on my album definitely speak to a variety of my moods.

Now, after conquering both music and film, do you prefer one over the other?

I love them both, equally – movies are my heart, music is my soul.

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look: all clothing GUESS

What made you want to collaborate with Will.I.Am on your debut track, “In My City”?

My collaboration with Will was the beginning of my musical journey. I recorded the track in London with my producer RedOne, and we really thought it needed male vocals. Will was the perfect fit – he’s a musical genius.

You’ve received tons of accolades from “Best Dressed Woman” in India to Maxim’s “Hottest Girl of the Year,” how does it feel to be so beloved by fans across the world?

It’s amazing and I owe all of my success to my fans. When I won Miss World when I was 17 years old, and acting opportunities came my way, the plan was to give it a year and if it didn’t work out I would go to college to become an aerospace engineer. I wanted to work for NASA. Needless to say, the wind blew my way. I’m so blessed and grateful for this opportunity. I truly belong to my fans.

What do you want to get done in 2014?

I have the best job in the world and I hope to continue what I am doing in the new year. I’m most looking forward to the three movies I have coming out this year and for my album!

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You do so much, what do you look forward to after a long day of work?

Sleep! Sleep! Sleep!

Valentine day plans?

I’ll probably be working! I’m a workaholic.

You have gorgeous skin and hair, what are your beauty tips?

My secret weapon is lip stain, and my favorite beauty/skin secret is yogurt! It’s the best skin cream you can find.

How did the Guess Jeans campaign come about?

Whenever I have been asked to give glam references for photo shoots, more often than not, I’ve referenced a Guess campaign. The women are so classically beautiful, iconic, and feminine. To be honest, being a Guess girl was something that I would have never thought of, but when I met Paul (we were introduced by my hair stylist Peter Savic), within three seconds he said to me: ‘You’re it. It has to be you.’ For a major American fashion brand to move their campaign into a global space, well, it’s quite an honor.

Your favorite bombshell of all time?

Claudia Schiffer!

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Stylist: Kyle Blackmon

Make Up: Shyann Swisher

Hair Rosie: Lucia

Location: Shangri La Hotel

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This NYU Sophomore Created a Photo Series on Black Vulnerability That is Getting People Talking

Jul 13, 2020 @ 12:40 pm Taylor Winter Wilson

Jul 13, 2020 @ 12:40 pm
Taylor Winter Wilson

Full Story

This NYU Sophomore Created a Photo Series on Black Vulnerability That is Getting People Talking

Jul 13, 2020 @ 12:40 pm By Taylor Winter Wilson

Ashley Pena was tired of only seeing white angels. So, she decided to create her own Black Angels.

The NYU sophomore, who majors in photography naturally, takes photos that focus on “Blackness as it relates to vulnerability and how that looks privately and publicly.”

We talked to Ashley about what sparked the idea for her Black Angels photo series (which you can scroll down to see), how she is handling being a black creator during these draining times, and what else she has up her sleeve.

What’s your background and how would you describe what you do? Tell us your story.

I was raised in Maryland pretty much all my life until I headed off to college in New York where I attend NYU and major in photography and imaging. To describe what I do, I prefer the term image-maker rather than a photographer just because I feel like I don’t just take pictures, it feels more like I am telling a story or a narrative rather than detaching myself and objectively making photographs.

My work focuses on portraiture through documentation and storytelling, particularly on Blackness as it relates to vulnerability and how that looks privately and publicly. It’s about identity, power dynamics, and viewing Black life as worthy, desirable, and sacred.

To have Black people see themselves within my images and to communicate authentic beauty because whenever Black figures were photographed, it was through the white gaze and filtered through Eurocentric standards of beauty. For me, it’s about sharing truth and controlling back the narrative. I wanted to rewrite a history filled with erasure and misrepresentation.

What were you doing before photography and how did you get to where you are now?

Before photography, I was into painting. I started to take photography more seriously in 2017 and that eventually became the only medium in which I navigated the world through. I was young when I started to make images, so I wasn’t doing too much before that.

Now, I’m an upcoming sophomore at New York University studying to get my Bachelors’s degree. I don’t know what I will do after, but I’m hoping college will help me figure that out.

Tell us about your Black Angel photo series. What is the meaning behind it and what inspired you to create this project?

I started the “Black Angels” photo series around the same time I started my “Boys Don’t Cry” series which had more to do with vulnerability. When I first started the “Black Angels” series, it was because I wasn’t seeing any Black Angels anywhere, whether that be in renaissance paintings, modern paintings, or in any other art form. All of the angels I was seeing were white.

As I started making these images, I started to realize that the only time I saw Black men depicted as angels were when they died. That’s when I realized my images were also playing tribute to all of the fallen angels who have died and all the angels who continue to fear for their lives because of the criminalization of their bodies. I wanted to create images that show Black people in a light that shows our humanity because too often people portray us in a way that dehumanizes us.

Aside from being a Black woman, what initially peaked your interest in the religious iconography of Black people from various backgrounds?

When I started the “Black Angels” series, it was because I never saw any Black figures depicted as Angels in the white cube spaces that were museums or galleries and especially in churches. I’m not as religious as I want to be, but I know enough to know that religion is whitewashed. Christianity in particular is practiced all around the world. Many churches don’t acknowledge racism because they were corrupted by white evangelicals to believe it’s too much of a political topic to speak on. Not only that, but the images of God and “God’s people” depicted as White only reinforce feelings of inferiority among non-Whites. Many racists claim to be religious, but still hate God’s creations. It just goes to show how white supremacy is rooted in American Christianity. I chose to include images of Black people from various backgrounds because anti-Blackness is a Global issue. The United States is not the only country that was built from systemic racism and it’s important for other places to know and acknowledge that.

With the current political climate in our country, from the protests to major changes in huge corporations due to the Black Lives Matter Movement, as a Black creative how are you doing? And how has all of this affected your work?

I was talking to another friend who is also a Black creative not too long ago about these statements that corporations are making and how we felt about them. In the end, I came to the conclusion that we aren’t the only Black creatives who feel overwhelmed and angry right now. Personally, a lot has happened during these past few weeks for me. People are reaching out to represent me, feature my work somewhere, etc. Many people have taken an interest in my work overnight and it saddens and angers me that it came from the backs of Black suffering. The Black Lives Matter Movement going mainstream once again has impacted the way people have engaged with my work. My work is my activism and the work that many people have an interest in is work I’ve put out a long time ago. Anti-Blackness, racism, colorism, white supremacy, and so many other issues have always been an issue, but the fact that these corporations choose to speak out now seems superficial. Until I see actual change happening, it is only a performance. I constantly ask why now is the time these companies that weren’t inclusive before want to start amplifying Black voices, and it feels temporary to be quite honest. I am grateful for the genuine opportunities that do come my way though.

When you’re not working on content, what do you do for fun? Are you super social or more of a homebody?

Whenever I’m not working on making content, I like to go through photo archives of other people’s work. I also love reading books, and right now I’m going through a couple of photo books I’ve always wanted to read which is always fun and interesting. I could look at them all day long. I’m also in the process of doing research for current and future projects. I’d consider myself a homebody, but after this quarantine is over, whenever that’d be, I will make it my mission to be more of a social person. I’m tired of being home all day.

What do you want our readers to take away from our interview?

Some people had the privilege to not understand what my work was about and now that my work has reached these audiences, I can only hope they understand the truth that has always been within my images. And to the Black readers, you should never feel guilty about experiencing joy, especially right now. That in itself is a revolutionary act.