From skies to silver screen

Model-turned-actress Priyanka Setia started her career as a flight attendant and later she moved to Delhi and then Mumbai to pursue her passion for modelling. To try her luck in the Bollywood she joined theatre and as the adage goes ‘rest is history’. “I flew for Lufthansa for a few years. I was flying and enjoying, travelling the world then suddenly I realised that I should do something more creative. So, I started doing, modelling, theatre and then I got into acting,” shares Priyanka.

Priyanka made her Bollywood debut in the year 2015 with Ayushmann Khurrana’s movie, ‘Hawaizaada’.

Speaking about bagging a role in Vidya Balan-starrer ‘Begum Jaan’ she says, “I was called for an audition by Mukesh Chabra's team. They took my audition and after two weeks I got a call that I have been selected for the role of Jameela,” Priyanka says.

About her experience working with National Award-winning actress Vidya Balan, she says, “Vidya is a sweet person.
She is an amazing actor as well as a warm human being.”

She just finished shooting for ‘Haseena: The Queen of Mumbai’. “My character stands against Haseena (Shraddha Kapoor). Because it’s a real life character and you are answerable to the person you are playing. You can’t make it a caricature. I had to pay close attention and keep it as genuine as possible. I have tried to play the role with full honesty and gave my 100 per cent,” says Priyanka, who is playing a lawyer in the film.

She states that working with Shraddha Kapoor was an interesting experience. “Shraddha is very hardworking. She is a sweet girl. She is very compassionate and cares about other people on the sets.”

Priyanka says that she wants to do roles which are meaty and substantial. “They should have something meaningful and definite to say. I am looking for such characters and that’s the reason why I worked in ‘Haseena Parkar’ and ‘Begum Jaan’. Both are different characters but both the roles are about a strong woman. In ‘Begum Jaan’, Jameela is a strong headed prostitute and in ‘Haseena Parkar’, strong lawyer,” she says.

Does being an actress and wife of a famous casting director-cum-producer, Honey Trehan, help in getting roles? “We don’t go around telling people that we are husband and wife. I don’t seek work on his name. He doesn’t recommend me to others and go around promoting me. I have to prove myself at every stage to get a movie,” Priyanka signs off.