Priyanka Chopra was already a star by the time she starred in Dharma Productions’ Dostana, and in a recent interview, a veteran journalist recalled that despite her stardom and success, designer Manish Malhotra did not have a high opinion of her at that time, and they did not get along. Priyanka’s mother Madhu Chopra, who was talking to the journalist on Lehren Retro, was shocked to know that Priyanka actually broke down on the set of the film, when the song “Desi Girl” was supposed to be shot. This happened when Manish accidentally sent her a message that implied that he did not like her.
Bharathi S Pradhan, who was in conversation with Priyanka’s mother recalled that during Dostana, which was Priyanka and Manish’s first film together, there was “some problem” between them and they “did not get along.” She shared that during the last leg of the shoot in Mumbai, when they were shooting for “Desi Girl,” producer Karan Johar texted Manish to rush to the set. “He messaged Manish, ‘Film City aa jao. Last day hai. Isse tumko chutkara mil jayega (Come to Film City. It’s the last day. You will get rid of her)’, or something like that,” she shared and recalled Manish’s response, “Thank god it’s my last day with Priyanka.” But instead of texting Karan, Manish sent this text to Priyanka, and she was beside herself when she saw it.
“When Priyanka got this message ‘thank god it’s my last day, chutkara mil jayega,’ naturally she started crying,” she shared. While all of this was happening, Karan messaged Manish asking what he had done, as “she was crying on set.” Manish realised that he had accidentally texted the wrong person, and Madhu said that this was a “big faux pax.” But, contrary to what could have happened, Priyanka asked Manish, “What have I done?” she the veteran journalist, and added, “She handled it so beautifully that instead of becoming enemies forever, they became the closest friends.” Priyanka’s mother shared that Manish visited Priyanka when she was shooting in Nice.
In the same chat, Madhu had shared that Dostana director Tarun Mansukhani was a “scary man” when Priyanka was shooting for the film. She said that one day, when Priyanka had high fever, Tarun wasn’t being co-operative and insisted that she come to work. Madhu recalled stepping in and telling Tarun, “If you want her to die on your set, I’ll send her. But if something happens to her, but you’ll be responsible for it.” She shared that they had resolved their differences and were now friends with each other.