Priyanka Chopra celebrates South Asian excellence at pre-Oscars event; 'I have goosebumps'

Global star Priyanka Chopra delivered a powerful speech shedding light on the excellence of South Asian talent at the pre-Oscars event. The Quantico star, who co-hosted the event ahead of the main Academy Awards event on March 28, reflected on her journey in the West, quipping that today she's not 'someone else' and stands at par with her peers. 

She quipped that she's both emotional and proud at the same time, also congratulating all the South Asian nominees with a special shoutout to Riz Ahmed. Chopra, who opted for a gorgeous black saree for the event, also revealed that she has been staying at home otherwise, and attended the event in order to encourage her peers. 

Priyanka Chopra celebrates South Asian excellence at the pre Oscars event

Snippets from her entire speech have been making rounds on social media. The actor spoke about the time she started to look out for work in America, further recounting an incident with actor Aziz Ansari. "When I came here 10 years ago and started looking for work in America, I remember I was at a Golden Globes party and Aziz Ansari and I met at an after-party and it was just him and I and we wanted to count how many brown people were in the room and it was just us. And you know it was great, we congratulated each other, encouraged each other and we went out and met everyone else," she said. 

Reflecting on how things have changed since, she added, "But today I am not someone else. Today I stand among peers, amongst colleagues, amongst south Asian excellence. And I have goosebumps, I am emotional, it makes me very proud." She continued, "Haven’t been stepping out anywhere but had to come here just to say this tonight that I am highly proud to be rubbing shoulders with all of you, to be encouraging you,"

The event was co-hosted by  Mindy Kaling, Kumail Nanjiani, Anjula Acharia, Bela Bajaria, Maneesh K. Goyal and Shruti Ganguly, with guests like Riz Ahmed, Suroosh Alvi, Joseph Patel among others in attendance. 

Image: INSTAGRAM/@PRIYANKACHOPRA