I take it personally when my films don't do well: Priyanka

From the lows of her last flop film to the highs of her song doing well, Priyanka Chopra talks about her swinging professional life...

Zanjeer not doing well... was that disappointing?
Of course yes, it did disappoint me. Unless you are not trying something different, you are not evolving and then comes failure. So I am always prepared for failure. Whenever I do something different I am always prepared for it. But now Krrish 3 is happening and then it's Gundey. I did not have the time to sit back and think about what could have gone wrong.

So at this point of your career, do flops and hits matter lesser or more?
Of course they matter and I take it personally when my films don't do well. But it also depends on what other stuff you are doing. As an actress we do four-five films a year and when one or two don't do well, it's fine because you have another one coming up. If I was doing one film a year it would really matter a lot but I think I balance it. I do all kinds of films and I do films for random reasons, I don't think too much. Sometimes I do films because I like the director. There are two types of films, which I like doing - one of course has to be a commercial film and the other has to be for the actor in me. I have tried to keep that balance since the last five years and that's a conscious effort.

Are you happy with where you have reached?
Professionally I feel I am in a space where I am fortunately doing an array of films, like where I am doing a Krrish 3 I am also doing a Mary Kom. I am very fortunate in the space where people come to me with whether they are commercial films, or actor driven films. I am working with amazing co-actors and different types of directors so I am in a really great place when it comes to my movies. My singing career has just started now and I am a debutant right now, which is another aspect and it's scary. I am just a year old in music so I am still trying to find my feet, so I have the excitement of a new comer and also the experience of someone who has done so much.

What kind of response did you get for your second song?
It's my second song, but we have done platinum in India for my first song in three weeks. In India and Asia it has done well. In America it has been picked up by radio channels. You know every song has it's own journey and I am not expecting it to be huge. Just because I come from movies, we are used to knowing if it is a success within a week but with songs, the life of it is almost a year-long. Music is a different ball game and people don't understand it. I am very proud of my album and I know it will take time to become the kind of musician I want to become. It was my dad's big dream for me, he knew I loved it but I did not have the courage to do it because I was paying so much attention to my acting career.

There has been some criticism about the song and the video...
It will take people time to accept my music and me. It's so wonderful for me and it's so surreal when I am in America and my song plays on the radio or I see it on TV or MTV in the US. It's a big deal because I am a couple-of-months-old in US. NFL has taken on my song for the second season, About 60 million people watch that game in the US and I am their headlining act. I am the brand ambassador for them and for a new artist it doesn't really happen that soon. So it's very encouraging for me. I am doing great films, people are writing films for me so I am in a content space where I can snap out and do other things so I think music for me was an extension for my creatively. People direct and write, I started singing and I like being the first in doing things.

This year so far has not been smooth for you, professionally and personally...
This year was a difficult year for me with my dad's illness and with so many things happening. I am someone who is very private.

Your love life has been under the radar recently...
I never talk about my personal life, it has been my stand always. If there is something in my personal space which is big enough to share I wouldn't mind it. As a public person my life is 90 per cent out there, everything is discussed and judged. I like to keep some things private and even then if there is something worthy of sharing, I definitely will. The day you will see a ring on my finger then I will tell you who it is.u00a0