Lara Dutta Said She Is ‘Different’ From Priyanka Chopra: ‘Don’t Want To Be Seen In Every Second Film’
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Lara Dutta said she has different aspirations compared to Priyanka Chopra.
Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra.
Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra made their Bollywood made their debuts in Andaz with Akshay Kumar. Lara then went on to do Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost with Abhishek Bachchan. Since Lara and Priyanka won pageants together and then debuted in the same film, they were often subjected to comparisons. In a 2003 Rediff interview, Lara was asked if she and Priyanka were looking for the same kind of roles after Andaz.
Lara Dutta said, “I don’t think so. We are very different actresses. She has different aspirations. I want to build a base for myself as an actress so that, tomorrow, a filmmaker will have the confidence to cast me in a role like Nargis’ in Mother India. I don’t want to burn myself out. I don’t want to be seen in every second film. I don’t want the audience to say, ‘Oh no, she’s in this one too.'”
Lara noted that women in films at that time didn’t get meaty roles easily. She said, “It is very hard to find the right balance between being a woman of substance and a sex symbol. I want to play the entire gamut… What I like about Hindi films is the vibrancy. I’m getting feelers from big camps. I’d like to fit in everywhere.”
Lara spoke about competition with Priyanka in another interview with the same portal. “That helped both of us perform better. And I would much rather compete with Priyanka, whose career has grown alongside mine. Besides, she’s very talented. We advised each other like two veteran actresses whenever the other would mess up a shot. There was no ego on the sets,” she said.
Priyanka Chopra’s mother, Madhu Chopra, recently revealed that Lara and Priyanka continue to share a friendship and meet each other occasionally.