Alia Bhatt hails ‘brave’ Priyanka Chopra's Hollywood stardom - but vows to continue Indian career after Gal Gadot film

ACTRESS Alia Bhatt has praised her close pal Priyanka Chopra for breaking into Hollywood - but says she won't follow in her footsteps.

The Hindi film star is stepping into her first role outside of Bollywood alongside Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan in spy thriller Heart of Stone.

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Her performance as tech boffin Keya in the new flick saw her dubbed a "formidable talent" by director Tom Harper.

The highly-anticipated movie debuts globally on Netflix on Friday, allowing a new realm of film fans to enjoy Alia's talents.

But although she is bringing her acting talents to the international stage, she has vowed to continue her career in Indian cinema.

The 30-year-old says she is content with forging her own path, despite being in awe of Priyanka's extraordinary success in the US.

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Alia's fellow actress and friend made a name for herself in Bollywood before taking the plunge and finally moving Stateside in 2015.

The 41-year-old, who is wed to Nick Jonas, soon got her big break after starring in ABC's thriller drama series, Quantico.

Alia said the trailblazer has inspired her as well as countless others to follow their dreams - but she isn't moving to the US for now.

She told the Associated Press: "I think what Priyanka did was extremely brave and very different from what anyone has ever done.

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"She’s such an inspiration to every young girl from India that has that big dream to be a global icon and a global star.

"I don’t think I could do that. I want to continue to do movies in India.

"And I want to be able to get these one-off, amazing international opportunities."

The Dear Zindagi star explained she accepted her first Hollywood role as the timing and content of the script felt right.

"Your first film chooses you," she added. "Technically, this is my first English-language movie. It chose me and I’m so happy it did."

Alia said she is happy to let Gal Gadot take the lead in Heart of Stone, while she takes on a supporting role in the new flick.

But she wanted to ensure her character wasn't just written in to fill a "South Asian" slot and that her storyline remained impactful.

The actress said: "The way I judge it is if you take the character out of the story and you still have a film, then that character’s not important."

Alia was even pregnant with her first child during filming, but gave her all and is extremely proud of her - and her stunt doubles - work.

"I’m like, ‘Wow, I did that?’" she laughed. "I don’t think so, but it looks like I did."

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The Mumbai-born beauty is also celebrating the success of another recent project, her lead role in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.

She filmed alongside Ranveer Singh for the romcom that has outshined Barbie and Oppenheimer at the box office in India.

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