Priyanka Bose has always stood apart for the kind of roles she chooses — whether it was the Oscar-nominated Lion, the internationally acclaimed Agra, or her upcoming release Jugnuma – The Fable. Fearless both on and off screen, she doesn’t shy away from stories that challenge conventions or conversations that unsettle the industry.
In conversation with MoneyControl.com, Priyanka opens up about fantasy vs realism, boundary-pushing narratives, #MeToo, and why meaningful work has meant fewer opportunities but a stronger identity.
You've worked in American fantasy drama The Wheel of Time along with your notable work in Indian movies. Tell us how performing in fantasy worlds differ from grounded, dramatic narratives like Jugnuma or Agra.
Fantasy gives you scale — you’re literally playing with swords, sorcery, other worlds. But for me, whether it’s Amazon’s fantasy or Raam Reddy’s realism, the core is the same: emotional truth. What differs is the skin around it. In fantasy, you have spectacle. In realism, you have silence. Both demand imagination, just in different languages.
Your 2013 Tanishq ad about the remarriage of a single mother was hailed as path-breaking for its time. With films like Agra and now Jugnuma, you continue engaging with stories that push boundaries. Do you feel the Indian audience today is more open to such unconventional narratives, or does the resistance still persist?
Both things are true. Audiences are curious and hungry, but we still carry a cultural weight of judgment. The Tanishq ad was a reminder of how something so normal — a woman remarrying — could be seen as radical. A decade later, we’re more open, but the resistance hasn’t disappeared. It just hides better.
On the other side, global exposure through streaming platforms — and your own international projects like The Wheel of Time — seem to have made audiences here more receptive to bold storytelling. Have you noticed that shift in how viewers engage with your work?
Yes, there’s been a shift. People are no longer shocked by complexity; they expect it. Global exposure has trained audiences to see women, men, relationships in more nuanced ways. When someone comes up to me after Agra or Jugnuma, they don’t just say “great acting” — they say, “I felt seen,” and that tells me the audience is evolving.
Back in 2018, during the #MeToo movement, you courageously called out sexual misconduct by Sajid Khan, Soumik Sen and Ally Khan. Recently, actor Saloni Chopra reignited the conversation by questioning Bollywood’s double standards after Zain Khan Durrani, also accused during the movement, was cast in a new project. Do you feel the industry has truly learned anything since #MeToo, or is it still quick to brush allegations aside when convenient?
The truth is: the industry moves where money moves. Lessons are learned slowly when accountability threatens profit. #MeToo cracked something open, but systems don’t change overnight. What I do see, though, is more women — and men — unafraid to speak. That courage is irreversible, even if the industry tries to brush things under the carpet.
What I learnt is speaking up for myself also means minding my business and realise I’m a small fry compared to all that needs work. And I’m no one to educate.
You once said, “I can’t do dumb roles”; and have consistently chosen projects that tackle sensitive issues like rape, remarriage, and social injustice. Has this commitment to meaningful work ever limited your opportunities in mainstream Bollywood, or has it helped you carve a stronger identity?
It has definitely limited opportunities — but in the best possible way. I don’t always get the glossy roles, but I get roles that matter. And that has helped me carve an identity that feels true to who I am as an artist. Longevity for me lies in truth, not in noise.
For example, moving forward with Kanu’s film (Agra), I knew it would be a difficult subject. But the amount of research, prep time, and emotional rigour I got for that role was a gift. That’s rare in our industry. And even then, the release itself is a challenge because the story is so deeply rooted in India, in an Indian reality that isn’t always easy to digest. But that’s precisely why it needs to be told. So yes, meaningful work has meant tougher paths and fewer opportunities — but it has also given me a stronger, more uncompromising identity as an actor.
You’ve spoken about how women’s issues are often glorified as if women need “help,” whereas the real need is to change perspective. More than a decade later, do you see any improvement in how cinema represents women beyond stereotypes?
We’ve made progress, but it’s incremental. Too often women are still written as functions — the wife, the mother, the victim, the muse. What excites me is when a woman is written simply as a person: messy, flawed, contradictory, powerful in her ordinariness. That’s the real shift I want to see, and until it becomes the norm, we still have work to do.
Also read: Divya Khossla reveals she wasn’t allowed to act after her marriage to T Series Head Bhushan Kumar
Priyanka Bose’s choices may not always be the easiest, but they are undoubtedly the most fearless. Be it working in magical realism of Jugnuma with Raam Reddy, confronting uncomfortable truths in Agra, or bringing nuance to fantasy epics like The Wheel of Time, she continues to embody characters that demand both courage and compassion. As she reminds us, longevity lies not in noise, but in truth.
Jugnuma – The Fable releases in cinemas on September 12. Agra arrives in theatres on October 10.
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