Priyanka Chopra, who is the cover girl for Vanity Fair magazine's February issue, in a recent interview with them, opened up about playing the role of boxing champion Mary Kom and prepping for the role. She also said in the interview that she feels like someone from the northeast should have played the titular role. "When I played Mary Kom, I was very skeptical taking it on in the beginning because she was a living, breathing icon and she made place for so many female athletes. Plus, I look nothing like her. She comes from the northeast of India and I am from northern India and we physically didn't look alike. In hindsight, the part should have probably gone to someone from the northeast," Priyanka Chopra told Vanity Fair.
The Matrix 4 star added during the interview, "But I was just greedy as an actor to get a chance to tell her story because she inspired me so much, as a woman, as an Indian woman, as an athlete. When the filmmakers insisted I do it, I was just like, 'You know what? I'm going to do it.'"
Speaking of how she prepped for the role, Priyanka Chopra said, "I went and met Mary, I spent time in her home, I met her children, I met her husband. I had to spend almost five months training to learn the sport, which is not easy, by the way... And to physically alter my body as well, to get into an athlete's shape. So, physically, it was really tough, mentally, it was really tough. Because I physically didn't look like her, I decided to embody her spirit. So, I spent a lot of time with her so that she could educate me about what her choices were, why she made the choices that she did."
The film Mary Kom showcases the journey of real-life boxing champion Mary Kom - who goes on to become a six-time world amateur boxing champion. The film was directed by Omung Kumar.