'Mary Kom' Has Broken All the Existing Records of A Female-Centric Film: Priyanka Chopra

"I have been told that 'Mary Kom' has broken all the existing records of a female-centric film. I feel female-driven stories will break the gender bias in the industry eventually. Such films will give due credit to the actresses in the male-dominated world," she added.

The former Miss World says the feisty portrayal of the five-time World Amateur Boxing champion in the Omung Kumar-directed film is the mirror image of today's society. "There have been many atrocities committed against woman in the society but we are no more sitting back at home. We rather have put our heads up and are facing the situations. The film mirrored such changes in the society," she said.

The 'Barfi!' star admits that she was nervous initially to take up the project as the fate of female-centric films at the box-office is not very bright in India. But when Mary chose Priyanka for the film, she could not say no to her.

"I never anticipated that the film will be appreciated so much. It was a huge responsibility as I had to do complete justice to the youth icon image of Mary and also make the film appealing to the viewers," Priyanka added.

Produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 'Mary Kom' has been applauded for Priyanka's performance. But it was panned for plugging some brands in the story.

"These brands act as a major source to help us make the film in a bigger way. It was a small-budget film. Had it been a boy movie it could have been easier to get such a huge release but for a female-centric film it was necessary to do the brand promotions. People don't think twice before coming to a conclusion," Priyanka said.

Also Read: Mary Kom Wants Priyanka As Boxing Academy's Brand Ambassador