"Lion" actress Priyanka Bose, who had accused filmmaker Sajid Khan of sexual misconduct when the #MeToo movement was at its peak in India, says speaking out made her feel free.
Did life change for her in any way after she came out about her unsavoury experience with Sajid?
Priyanka told IANS: "Oh, I am over it. It better have changed for him. We are surrounded by perpetrators. My speaking out frees me, other people chose not to. It's a choice one takes. I felt judged and humiliated, and I don't at all anymore."
The actress, who has been balancing her Indian and international projects, recently featured in the H&M Conscious Collection Spring campaign 2019. It explores the healing power of nature, while also embracing innovation with sustainable materials and processes for a more sustainable fashion future.
In her day-to-day life, Priyanka says she supports sustainability by not buying junk anymore.
"I shop vintage a lot. There's no looking down on things that can have a second life. I try and incorporate sustainable fashion as a part of my daily life. When H&M contacted me, I was seriously going through a process where a lot of my things had no value after a point and I was like, 'Okay, where does it go now?', I really needed information about how I could stop being a big buyer and more mindful of waste so I started looking into it a lot. Which meant this campaign was such a good fit."
On the work front, she is looking forward to some projects reaching fruition.
One is Prakash Jha's next film "Pareeksha", which is around the education system.
"'Pareeksha' is a film about a parent's dream and struggle to educate their son in an English medium school. India is a place where the class system is imbibed in the education one can get and cannot get, if you belong to a certain caste. The family bread-earner is a cycle rickshaw puller. As an actor we get to bridge the gap, telling a story like this," Priyanka said.
There's also "The Odds", directed by Megha Ramaswamy. The series, which brought down the curtains on the International Film Festival of Los Angeles recently, is a coming-of-age tale about two teens who skip school on an important exam day and go on a fantastical journey in Mumbai. It also features Abhay Deol, Yashaswini Dayama and Monica Dogra.
Priyanka said: "It's a whimsical story about two individuals who are the young adults, representing the India I grew up in. I play a scientist, and it is said to be the first of the series it's going to become. I just look forward to more stories like these."
But we see less of her on the big screen. Why is that?
"I have been working non-stop the past two years. I actually just filmed an exciting show for Apple (Apple TV+ video streaming service). When things release though it is not up to me. I have been learning so much... I am putting in a lot of work and my agents and my manager support me and my vision. I'm learning how to bridge the gap between two worlds, the work I get here and the work I get there (internationally)," added the actress.