Photo courtesy: Priyanka Chopra/Twitter
Recently there was much speculation in the Indian media about actresses Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone being considered to play the Bond girl in the next James Bond movie. The speculation can now be put to rest.
In their latest cover interview, Complex magazine questioned Priyanka Chopra about stepping into the shoes of the Bond girl in the future, and her response was epic, proving why the actress has managed to find success in the West.
"I get that all the time," she said. "But f--- that, I wanna be Bond.” Implication: Priyanka Chopra isn't here to play eye-candy. The title of the interview, ‘Hungry for more’, incidentally, captures the same spirit that PC displayed in answering that question.
Not one to settle for less, Chopra, who was offered to play one of the bikini-clad lifeguards in the Baywatch movie, instead chose to go for the villain’s part, originally written for a male actor. In the same way, her author-backed Quantico character of Alex Parrish was originally written for a white actress.
Chopra's pitch to play Bond went viral very quickly, sending fans into a tizzy and a majority giving her the thumbs up. In a few hours the actress, who was doing interviews in Los Angeles, found The Wrap reporter asking her about the frenzy she had caused on social media. Chopra stuck to her guns, and even said the name doesn’t have to change if the gender does. “It has to be James... it’s so hot,” she said, mouthing the quintessential “The name is Bond, James Bond,” line in her sexy voice.
The actress, who has voiced her desire to make constant attempts to break stereotypes in Hollywood, has surely ignited the bid for a female James Bond with her new statement.
Recently, the names of actors Tom Hiddleston and Idris Elba were being suggested to replace Daniel Craig, but the thought of a female Bond has been catching the fancy of several social media users. A few days back, fans of X-Files star Gillian Anderson went crazy when her picture featured on a fan-made 007 poster posted on Twitter.
Chopra surely has the action chops, the right attitude, talent, and hotness-quotient to play a female Bond. Even then, a brown actress actually stepping into the shoes of cinema's iconic British spy character seems like a far-fetched dream. Then again, with Priyanka Chopra, you never know! At least, the seeds of the thought have been sown.