Anil Sharma recalls 'failing to recognise' Priyanka Chopra after her nose surgery

Priyanka Chopra marked her Bollywood debut with Hero: The Love Story of a Spy. In a new interview, the Gadar 2 director heaped praise on the actress. He also spoke about the time when she was dropped out of several films due to her "botched" nose surgery. 

2 things you need to know 

• Priyanka Chopra had opened up about her nose surgery and how it had left her feeling 'depressed'.
• The actress thanked Anil Sharma for coming to her rescue after she returned signing amounts for several films.

Anil Sharma on Priyanka Chopra’s botched surgery 

In an interview with Bollywood Thikana, Gadar 2 director Anil Sharma recalled that he failed to identify Priyanka Chopra as her face changed after nose surgery. “Priyanka had gotten an operation on her nose because she wanted to look like Julia Roberts. This is what I read in the papers, and I wondered why she’d do something like this; she was already good-looking,” the director said. He also recalled another producer showing him a picture of Priyanka and how he failed to recognise the actress. 

(Anil Sharma file photo | Image: Varinder Chawla)

He recalled seeing the photo and thinking, “She looked terrible, she was so dark, what in the world had she done to herself? I summoned her immediately, and she came over the next day with her mother.”

He recalled her family telling him that the nose operation had gone wrong and left a mark on her face. “They said it would take months to heal, and that Priyanka had been dropped from several projects she’d already signed,” he said. He recalled the Fashion actress being "depressed", and said, “She had decided to return to Bareilly and return after some months, and was offering her signing amount back to me.” 

Anil Sharma comes to Priyanka Chopra’s rescue 

On hearing her plight, Anil Sharma decided to help Priyanka Chopra. He recalled bringing a makeup artist and asking him to do something to fix the issue. He recalled, ”Three days later, we shot a screen test with her. We gave her a short wig, and once the test was shot, we showed it to people, including Sunny Deol. They all thought she was beautiful.”

Previously in an interview with The Howard Stern Show, Priyanka Chopra also recalled the incident. She said, “This thing happens (the surgery), and my face looks completely different, and I went into a deep, deep depression”. the Citadel actress shared that because of her changed appearance, she lost three movies. She then went on to credit director Anil Sharma, who helped her during her worst. She recalled that she was supposed to play the lead in his film, but after the surgery, he was gracious enough to let her play the role of a supporting actor.