Priyanka to be seen in a biopic again

Priyanka Chopra has just returned from USA recently, and it looks like she has arrived with a mission. If a recent report is anything to go by, Priyanka will soon start working on the biopic of late astronaut Kalpana Chawla. The actress was last seen in Bollywood film Jai Gangaajal, which was released early last year. The project will be managed by debutant Priya Mishra, who has been in talks with the leading lady's team for quite a while now. She told Mid-Day, “I have been working on this project for the past seven years. A new production banner will back the project.” This movie will portray the life of India’s first female astronaut who went into outer space. Kalpana Chawla was born in March 1962 in Karnal, Haryana. She received her early education from the Tagore Bal Niketan School and completed her aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. She moved to the US in 1982, and started working with NASA in 1988. Chawla died in February 2003 when space shuttle Columbia, carrying her and fellow astronauts, disintegrated after catching fire while returning to earth. Chawla had spent 31 days, 14 hours and 54 minutes in space before the catastrophe occurred. To this date, her name is famous for being the first Indian woman to have travelled in space. This will be Priyanka’s second biopic, after Mary Kom. Turns out, the filmmaker has been in touch with Kalpana Chawla’s parents and had discussed this project with then. “I was last heading a TV channel creatively and post 2011, quit film making. This is one of the two scripts that I have written,” she said. A source has added that the venture will be promoted on an international scale. “The film will be mounted on an international scale. A new production company, Getway, is likely to produce the biopic,” said the source. Last time when she was in town, Priyanka promoted the Punjabi film, Sarvann, which her production house had made. Her Marathi production, Ventilator, also won awards at the National Film Awards. Now, the production house is working on a Sikkimese film, Pahuna.