She entered Tollywood with the popular Raj Chakrabarty film, Chirodini Tumi Je Amar, in 2008. And she credits her career highs to the people she has had all along beside her, both in the personal and professional capacity. In a candid chat with CT, Priyanka Sarkar spoke about work, life and realisations that dawned upon her in the pandemic years.
'Wherever I am in my career is because of the people around'
Priyanka had a long list of acknowledgements to share with us. "Right from the time Ma introduced me to work in the glamour world, actor Kunal Mitra's guidance, getting my first film break to Sreelekha Mitra referring me to directors, Prosenjit Chatterjee's words of encouragement and working with Srijit Mukherji, Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Srijato, I can only be grateful to people's kindness towards me. I must also mention the directors who have repeated me in their films' casting," she said.
'Parambrata is one of my favourite persons & a brilliant actor' For Priyanka, getting to work with Parambrata in Srijit's next Bengali film about Chaitanya Deb, is a result of her long association with them. "Parambrata is one of my favourite persons and a brilliant actor. I love his work and it's exciting to be in this film. Srijit has always given good feedback about my work, which has helped me grow. I am working with Srijato in his directorial and like his effortless poetry, I am expecting some sort of magic in his direction too," she shared.
'I feel deeply about the pledge of organ donation' The actress recently pledged her organ and got support from various quarters, including her former husband and actor Rahul. "I feel deeply about the pledge of organ donation. Especially in trying times like this, when so many people are facing health hazards, this is required. The pandemic has made me question myself, what am I doing other than my regular work? It was really nice of Rahul to reach out and pledge too. He has a fan base and it's good that this initiative is reaching to all corners," she said.
'Other than work, giving my son the right guidance is also my lookout'Priyanka's son, Shohoj, is only an eight-year-old child but the actress has got the right upbringing in place. When asked how she enjoyed her lockdown days with her son and how is he growing up to be, the actress said, "Kids also look forward to spending time away from their guardians.
That way, a little bit more cartoons and play happen (laughs). Besides, as much as every parent has enjoyed the lockdown days with their kids, they have also wished for schools to reopen for those few hours of peace at home! Earlier, we would worry about kids spending too much time online. Now, it has been a boon as they could cope with the classes. Giving Shohoj the right guidance is also my lookout. He is learning from watching his working mother that they are also individuals, who have lives of their own, and the choice to dress as they will."
'Depressive thoughts on life's failures can be overcome with purpose' While the boon and bane of social media has been much talked about, Priyanka feels trolls are a very small part of the big picture. "Trolls are best ignored but sometimes one has to speak up to draw the line. In these pandemic times, we have seen how people have become more empathetic towards each other. Social media has played a huge role here. So, it's not all that bad," she said.
When asked what advice would she like to share with aspiring actors and models who succumb to the pressures of the glamour world, Priyanka said, "Depressive thoughts on life's failures can be overcome with purpose. Begin with thinking why you started the journey in the first place and take each day as it comes. There have been times when I have felt depressed and hated my life and everything about myself. But I had to pick myself up and remind myself of my purpose."