Priyanka's no show for India promotions

Congratulations are in order for Priyanka Chopra, who has been announced as the face of the new Baywatch film, opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

But where does that leave her Bollywood project Jai Gangaajal, which is due to release on March 4? We hear that the team has been left high and dry as PeeCee is in the US, with director Prakash Jha having to make do with other cast members like Manav Kaul, for the promotions.

Hollywood work commitments had kept PeeCee away during the promotions of Bajirao Mastani as well, but Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone had managed all the appearances between themselves, with an occasional Skype chat from Priyanka. But her digital presence may not be enough for Jai Gangaajal, which does not have any other major stars.

Industry observers point out that A.R Rahman had faced a similar quandary when his career in the West took off — while he zipped off to the US time and again, Indian film producers would patiently follow him, getting their songs recorded whenever the Mozart of Madras was free. Rahman later admitted that his travelling plans put off a lot of B’wood producers. Will the same be the case with PeeCee?

While Rahman was helped by the fact that he could compose no matter where he was geographically, PeeCee of course doesn’t have the same advantage. And unlike an actor like Irrfan Khan, who wraps up one project abroad at a go before returning to India to work here (or vice versa), PeeCee’s various projects has been of the ongoing kind, where she is constantly required in Los Angeles.

“Priyanka has zipped off to LA once too often recently, during the shooting and marketing of her films. This will prove problematic in the coming months,” said a filmmaker who has worked with the actress. Clearly, balancing Bollywood and Hollywood is not going to be an easy task at all for PeeCee.