Priyanka Chopra Almost Quit Acting After ‘Botched Nose Surgery,’ Reveals Filmmaker Anil Sharma

Priyanka Chopra’s career has spanned two decades and earned her global recognition, but filmmaker Anil Sharma recently revealed that the actor’s journey almost ended before it truly began. According to Sharma, Chopra faced a major setback early in her career due to a nose surgery that went wrong, which led to her being fired from several projects.

In a conversation with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, Anil Sharma, who directed Priyanka in her Bollywood debut The Hero, recounted the challenges the actor faced early on. It was widely reported that Chopra had undergone a nose job to resemble actress Julia Roberts, but Sharma clarified that it was not a cosmetic procedure gone wrong. He explained that it was a “medical operation that went bad,” emphasizing that the mishap was not Chopra’s fault.

As a result of the surgery, Chopra lost multiple projects and was even ready to give up on her acting dreams. Sharma recalled that she had come to him to return the signing amount she had received for The Hero. “At that time, I had already given her a token of ₹5 lakh. She came with the cheque, saying she had been fired and was moving back to Bareilly. She wanted to return the money,” Sharma shared. However, the filmmaker refused to take the money back, scolding her a bit and encouraging her to stay strong.

Sharma revealed that Chopra was prepared to quit films and return to her family in Bareilly. “She said her father had already returned to Bareilly and rejoined his army duties. Her mother was also going to resume her practice. They thought Priyanka would need some time to heal and then return after a year,” he said. Despite the challenges, Sharma convinced her not to give up.

Priyanka eventually decided to stay in Mumbai and made her Hindi film debut with The Hero, alongside Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta. Her career took off with successful films like Andaz, Aitraaz, Barfi, and Mary Kom. In the mid-2010s, Priyanka expanded her career internationally, starring in the popular TV series Quantico before landing roles in major Hollywood films like The Matrix 4 and the upcoming series Citadel.

Sharma’s intervention played a pivotal role in keeping Chopra in the industry, allowing her to eventually become one of the most prominent global stars today.