Priyanka Chopra is no longer just a Bollywood celebrity or an Indian film icon. She has grown so much in the show business over the past decade that she can undoubtedly be described as a global star. While she has appeared in several notable Hollywood projects over the years, her journey there commenced with the thriller-drama series Quantico (2015-2018), which earned her worldwide acclaim fairly quickly.

While she was revelling in Quantico’s success, Priyanka returned to Bollywood, playing the lead role in director Prakash Jha’s Jai Gangaajal (2016). Recently, composer Salim Merchant, who crafted the crime drama’s soundtrack with his brother Sulaiman Merchant, took a trip down memory lane and recalled when the actor unknowingly drew attention away from legendary playback singer Sukhwinder Singh during an event, which hurt him deeply.

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‘Focus suddenly shifted to Priyanka Chopra’

He also shared that Sukhwinder left the venue halfway through, feeling bad about being overlooked. “Sukhwinder Singh was performing during the event. Priyanka’s Quantico was continuing its hit run at that time. She arrived a bit late for the event. Sukhwinder was singing, but suddenly, the focus shifted towards her,” he shared during a conversation with Prakhar Gupta.

“I mean, it’s natural that the media and others turned towards her. She was the star of the film; there’s no doubt about it. And she had just returned from the US after Quantico’s massive success. But Sukhwinder felt so bad and awkward, and he left the venue. He was very sad. So, I accompanied him, and we went and had tea at my studio,” he recalled.

About Jai Gangaajal

Also starring Prakash Jha, Kiran Karmarkar, Manav Kaul, Ninad Kamat, and Murali Sharma in key roles, Jai Gangaajal was a moderate success, grossing Rs 49.60 crore worldwide against a budget of Rs 33 crore, according to industry tracker Sacnilk. It served as a sequel to the director’s Ajay Devgn-led Gangaajal (2003).

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The crime drama remains Priyanka Chopra’s penultimate mainstream Bollywood movie in which she played the lead role, with the last one being Shonali Bose’s The Sky Is Pink (2019).

She is currently gearing up for her proper comeback to Indian cinema with director SS Rajamouli’s Mahesh Babu-led Varanasi, scheduled for release in April 2027. She was most recently seen in Frank E Flowers’s The Bluff (2026).