Parineeti Chopra admits she wasn't well-versed in industry networking, leading to career setbacks: ‘Newcomers today know exactly who to call, where to be’

Parineeti Chopra, who made her Bollywood debut with Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl in 2011, has carved a niche for herself in the industry with films like Ishaqzaade, Hasee Toh Phasee, and Amar Singh Chamkila. Reflecting on her journey, the actress admitted that she wasn’t well-versed in the industry’s networking game when she started, which led to several setbacks in her career.
Parineeti revealed that unlike her, today’s newcomers enter Bollywood with a strong understanding of how the industry works. “I see newcomers today are way more prepped. They know on another level kisko kab phone karna hai, kisko message karna hai, kiski party mein dikhna hai, kisse dosti karni hai. Maine to abhi tak wo nahi kiya. (They know on another level who to call, who to message, whose party to attend, and with whom to be friends. I haven’t done all of that). And that’s why maybe I have had many failures also because of that because I didn’t know how to play the game. But I was the most pure, well-intentioned person who just came for acting. And I just acted and kept moving on,” she shared in an interview with Mashable Middle East.

The actress admitted that in her early days, she was unaware of how films were cast or marketed. She shot Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl and Ishaqzaade back-to-back without knowing which film would release first. It was only later that she realized Ishaqzaade marked her first leading role, and its success even earned her a National Award.

Parineeti Chopra was last seen in Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila, where she starred opposite Diljit Dosanjh.