Birthday Special: When Lara Dutta Talked About Her Aspirations Being Different From Priyanka Chopra After Starring Together In 'Andaaz'

Bollywood actress Lara Dutta, who turns 45 on April 16, had discussed her career options following the success of her debut movie 'Andaaz' co-starring Priyanka Chopra.

New Delhi: Lara Dutta, Miss Universe 2000, and Priyanka Chopra both appeared in the romance 'Andaaz' (2003) starring Akshay Kumar, which was a casting success at the time. Lara, who turns 45 on April 16, had discussed her career options following the success of the movie. She had stated that Priyanka and she had different perspectives on their film careers and weren't going for the same kinds of parts.

While Lara made her Bollywood debut with 'Andaaz', Priyanka Chopra made her debut with Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta in Anil Sharma's 'The Hero: Love Story of a Spy'. In the Suneel Darshan-directed film, Akshay, Lara, and Priyanka were involved in a passionate love triangle. Both the movie and the album were popular at the time.

Lara stated that she and Priyanka had different perspectives on their careers in an interview with Rediff from 2003. She had said, "We are very different actresses. She has different aspirations. I want to build a base for myself as an actress so that, tomorrow, a filmmaker will have the confidence to cast me in a role like Nargis' in Mother India. I don't want to burn myself out. I don't want to be seen in every second film. I don't want the audience to say, 'Oh no, she's in this one too.'"

She had also added, "It is very hard to find the right balance between being a woman of substance and a sex symbol. I want to play the entire gamut." Lara and Priyanka ended up sharing the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for their performances in the film. Priyanka was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2004.

Lara portrayed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the movie 'Bell Bottom' with Akshay in 2021. She appeared in the 2022 Zee5 family drama Kaun Banegi Shikharwati with Naseeruddin Shah, Raghubir Yadav, Lara Dutta, Soha Ali Khan, Kritika Kamra, and Anya Singh. The actor's subsequent appearance will be in Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley, an Agatha Christie mystery directed by Vishal Bhardwaj.

We wish Lara Dutta a very Happy Birthday!