Priyanka Chopra has had a long and successful career in films spread over two decades. But filmmaker Anil Sharma revealed recently that the career almost ended before it began. The actor reportedly had a nose surgery go wrong early on due to which she was fired from almost every project she had. But Sharma says he stopped her from moving back home. (Also read: Priyanka Chopra Jonas confirms Bollywood comeback, is close to signing a Hindi film: ‘I really miss the dancing’)

Anil Sharma on Priyanka Chopra’s nose surgery

In a chat with Siddharth Kannan for his YouTube channel, Anil Sharma, who directed Priyanka in her Bollywood debut The Hero, recalled the actor’s early days. It was reported that Priyanka had a ‘botched nose job’ that she got to ‘look like Julia Roberts’. However, the filmmaker disagrees, saying it was ‘a medical operation that went bad’ and that it ‘wasn’t her fault’.

However, Priyanka lost a few projects after the mishap, and she even came to meet Sharma to return the signing amount she had received for The Hero. “At that time, I had already given her a token of ₹5 lakh. She came with the cheque. She said I have been fired and now I am moving back to Bareilly. They said they were waiting to give my money back. I said you keep the money and I scolded her a bit. She then told me what actually happened with her nose,” the filmmaker revealed.

The filmmaker said Priyanka was ready to quit films and move back to Bareilly, where her family was. But he stopped her. Sharma recalled, “She said my father is already back in Bareilly and has rejoined his duty in the army. Her mother said she will also resume her practice. They thought it would take some time for Priyanka to heal, so they would come back after a year or so. They were paying so much rent here, and they were regular people, not like Ambanis. I told them to stop.”

Priyanka Chopra’s career

Eventually, Priyanka stayed back and made her Hindi film debut with The Hero, which also starred Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta. The actor tasted success at the box office with Andaz in the same year and then critical acclaim with films like Aitraaz, Barfi, and Mary Kom. In the mid-2010s, she moved to the US, where she started her second innings with the TV show Quantico before appearing in major films and shows like The Matrix 4 and Citadel.