Priyanka Chopra to Star in, Co-Produce Indian Film 'The Sky Is Pink'

The movie will tell the real-life story of a motivational speaker from Delhi who died in 2015 when she was just 18.


Priyanka Chopra will star in Indian film The Sky Is Pink, a real-life drama directed by Shonali Bose, the producers unveiled on Wednesday.


The actress is also co-producing the film via her Purple Pebble Pictures banner with Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP Movies and Siddharth Roy Kapur's Roy Kapur Movies. Screwvala and Roy Kapur have been former managing directors of Walt Disney Company India.


RSVP Movies recently produced Hindi drama Love Per Square Foot, which Netflix acquired for worldwide streaming.


As one of India's most popular exports to Hollywood, Chopra's credits include Quantico, Baywatch and, more recently, A Kid Like Jake, co-starring Claire Danes. In between, she has continued to star in Bollywood projects, such as 2015's historical epic Bajirao Mastani, followed a year later by Jai Gangaajal.


The Sky Is Pink is based on the story of Aisha Chaudhary, a motivational speaker from Delhi who was born with an immune deficiency disorder and died in 2015 when she was just 18. Chaudhary will be portrayed by Zaira Wasim, while the film's cast also includes well-known actor Farhan Akhtar, with whom Chopra starred in 2015's Bollywood hit Dil Dhadakne Do. Chopra and Akhtar are expected to play the parents of the young girl.


The project began shooting Wednesday in Mumbai. It will also film in Delhi, London and the Andaman Islands.


Bose previously directed 2014's Margarita With a Straw, which had a successful festival run, bagging the NETPAC award at Toronto. The film focused on an Indian teenage girl with cerebral palsy, portrayed by Kalki Koechlin, who won a jury award at India's National Film Awards for her performance.


In a Facebook post, Bose explained that Chaudhary had seen the trailer of Margarita With a Straw 30 times and told her parents, "I hope I live to see this film. She said that because she knew she had only a short time left on earth." Chaudhary passed away before the film was released. When her parents watched the film, "they loved it and tracked me down in L.A. and said they only wanted one filmmaker in the world to tell this story and that was me," she said. "Not only because my film was Aisha’s dying wish but because I had lost a child too." In 2010, Bose lost her 16-year-old son Ishan.


“Strong scripts based on true-life stories are rare and then having the perfect team is rarer," said Screwvala, adding, "I can’t wait for 2019 to see it come alive."


Chopra's next Hollywood release will be Isn't It Romantic with Liam Hemsworth, which is slated to open next year. Meanwhile, the actress also landed the female lead opposite Chris Pratt in Universal's Cowboy Ninja Viking. Chopra is repped by WME and manager Anjula Acharia.