My fans are like my private army: Priyanka Chopra

There's nothing that Priyanka Chopra's touch hasn't turned to gold in the last few years-she's become a global popstar, become a veritable fashion icon (the hair chop was a good idea), tried her hand at film production, and amped up her star power with social media like nobody's business. We caught up with her all the way in LA, where she's working with ABC on a network show-yet another feather in her cap! Reports tell us that the show, Quantico, is a drama about young FBI recruits, and PC plays the brilliant, but troubled, Alex Weaver, a young trainee haunted by her past. "I think American content is totally brilliant-strong characters, amazing plot lines, and it's all really exciting!" she tells Cosmo.

Her single Exotic was worldwide hot stuff, and then her uptempo cover of I Can't Make You Love Me followed. Next thing you know, Priyanka is at all the Grammy parties in wicked-hot Zuhair Murad and Blumarine dresses, chilling with the likes of Paris Hilton and Sheryl Crow. But she's got even bigger plans for her music career. "I'm working on both a single and an album right now. I had to take a break-Mary Kom, Bajirao Mastani and Dil Dhadakne Do happened pretty much back-to-back-but I'm back in the studio now and loving it," she says, excitedly. "Writing, making melodies, recording-all this gives me such a creative high!"

With Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani, Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do, Prakash Jha's Gangaajal 2, and Madhur Bhandarkar's Madamji in the pipeline, you'd think she'd barely have time to breathe. But no, Priyanka is also planning to add 'producer' to her long list of accomplishments! "Madamji won't be my first time producing, though," she tells us. "Very few people know this, but I produced my Swachh Bharat campaign video, and an ad for a new brand I'm endorsing. Work on Madamji hasn't really begun yet, but based on those two projects, hell yeah, I'm looking forward to it!" Her character in Madamji (an item girl turned politician) has a lot in common with her character in Gangaajal 2 (a tough cop)-they're both strong, unfettered women. "It's still early to talk about both, but I can't wait to jump into these characters. They're both mouth-watering possibilities for me as an actor!" Her character in Zoya's Dil Dhadakne Do, however, has been a bit of a mystery, one that Priyanka happily clears up for us. "Ayesha is such an interesting character-she's so relatable, and she makes a point for women of today that's incredibly relevant. I loved playing her!" But that's not the only role PC has played in the film, "I sing for Anushka (Sharma)-well, for her character in the film. And it was so much fun! Anushka and I cracked up every time when, while shooting, my voice came out of her mouth. I want to thank her for being my first!"

She's also playing Ranveer Singh's sister in the film-and his first wife in Bajirao Mastani as well! "The chemistry came to us quite naturally in both the roles-and I think we've gotten it right both ways. Being an actor is essentially being a chameleon; it's the art of morphing!" And morphed she has, into her multiple avatars-including a social media superstar! Priyanka is an Instagram icon, an avid Tweeter, and now she even chills with her fans on Viber group chats! "The one-on-one chats, in particular, were the real find for me," she says. Social media's big sell for her? To reach out to her fan base. "It's always great to talk to fans, because I know, no matter what kind of chances I take, they've got my back. It's like having my own private army! And I like to stay connected with them through Twitter and Insta." But more than anything, she's an Instagram girl at heart, "I'm a real photo junkie, so Insta gives me my fix. I always end up making a bunch of spelling mistakes, though!" she admits. "I think if I were a social media network, I'd be Instagram for sure. I'm a really visual person and Insta works best with that."

She can't deny she's pretty hooked to Twitter, too. "Twitter lets me talk to people one-on-one-no middlemen involved. I can't get enough of that kind of conversation. I'm not hearing something from someone, it's straight from the horse's mouth and it helps me get the full blast of people's warmth and affection." But the downside of being active on social media-being stripped of her privacy-doesn't really faze PC. "You choose social media. We want to be connected 24/7 and social media lets you do that-it doesn't even come close to how the paparazzi can invade your privacy," she says. "Even something as sacrosanct as my father's funeral was flooded with paparazzi. That's the kind of invasion of space I simply can't deal with." On the relationship front, we're full of questions, but Priyanka is coy and tight-lipped. "Who I'm seeing is for me to know and for you to find out!" she says (an artful dodge, if we ever saw one). "But seriously, though, I prefer not talk about it because of that privacy I mentioned. I quite like it, and the minute you say anything, it's this huge spectacle for people to discuss...which I guess they do anyway," she laughs. "You hear one link-up rumour after another, and they're so ridiculous! I'd rather not feed that absurd randomness," she says. "I'm a pretty good girlfriend when I am one, though, if I say so myself," she adds. "I totally commit, and completely give myself to a relationship. Be warned, though-I don't like being taken for granted, so I can be pretty high-maintenance sometimes!" The one thing everyone tends to forget in the midst of all the glamour is the social change Priyanka is advocating. She's the UNICEF goodwill ambassador, and was recently also part of their iconic Imagine video with Katy Perry, Will.I.Am, and all the biggies. "To be part of something so enormously inspiring, with music legends from all over the world, was exhilarating. John Lennon is a personal favourite and I believe Imagine was the perfect song to encapsulate our hopes for young lives everywhere-it so succinctly sums up the utopia we're all trying to achieve." She's also championing girl education in a big way, with the documentary Girl Rising and her speech at a world leaders' conference in Boston centred around the subject. "The trouble is, education is still looked at as a privilege, not a right. That needs to change, and fast."

The Cosmo Quiz

1. The designer I'd happily wear for the rest of my life is Dolce & Gabbana.

2. Never Have I Ever been skiing.

3. The wildest thing I've ever done on set is faint!

4. The one handle that's always fun on Twitter is OMG Facts and Epic Women.

5. The character I've played that's most like me in real life is Neha from Dostana and Roma from Don.

6. The b*tchiest thing someone's ever said about me is 'how does she survive with all the choices she makes!' But haters gonna hate, potatoes gonna potate!'

7. One thing Parineeti and I have in common is spunk. 8. I'd kill to sing a romantic duet with Jay Z.

9. One app that I can't live without is Twitter, Insta and Math 42.

10. One thing I only do when nobody's watching is oh, I'm always being watched.

11. My fitness secret is clearly eating whatever I want! I have to stop binging!

12. I love/hate being called Piggy Chops though I do think it's time for a new nickname now.

13. I've gotten as many as 80,000 plus 'Likes' on a picture.

14. If I could be remembered as just one thing, I'd want it to be an entertainer.

15. My break-up ritual is soulfood, music, and my BFF-preferably all together!

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