Anil Sharma recalls “Tearful meeting” with Priyanka Chopra after botched nose surgery: “She looked terrible”

Anil Sharma and Priyanka Chopra collaborated on 2003’s film The Hero: The Love Story of a Spy.

While Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ journey to success is often celebrated, there exists a poignant chapter that director Anil Sharma, who worked with her for the 2003 film The Hero: The Love Story of a Spy, recently opened up about. Sharma reminisced about the time when Priyanka underwent nose surgery and how it impacted her career.

Anil Sharma recalls “Tearful meeting” with Priyanka Chopra after botched nose surgery: “She looked terrible”

Speaking about the initial criticism Priyanka faced for her altered appearance, Anil Sharma shared, “I’ll tell you what happened. A big tragedy happened to her. She was wonderful; I'd already signed her, and my wife herself presented her with a cheque outside a temple,” in a candid interview with Bollywood Thikana.

He continued, “I left for a trip to America and Europe after Gadar was released, and I returned after two months and found out that 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.”

He further recalled, “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.”

Upon further inquiry, Sharma learned that Priyanka had embarked on this journey due to a sinus problem, which ultimately went awry. The aftermath of the botched surgery left Priyanka in a fragile psychological state. Feeling responsible for her predicament, Sharma sought help from a veteran makeup artist who had previously worked with Bollywood luminaries like Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi.

After a brief screen test, where Priyanka wore a short wig, the transformation was remarkable. With unanimous agreement from the team, including actor Sunny Deol, Priyanka Chopra's journey to reclaim her confidence and career had begun.

Also Read: Anil Sharma reacts after Naseeruddin Shah said that success of films like Gadar 2 is ‘disturbing’: “I have never had any political propaganda in this”