Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta both rose to fame after winning international beauty contests in 2000, and made their way to the movies. The two actors started their career together in the Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Andaaz’ which launched her career as a promising newcomer in the industry. Although, Priyanka’s film with Sunny Deol, ‘The Hero: Love Story Of A Spy’ was the first, marking her debut. In a recent interview, Lara spoke about those initial days and credited Akshay with having a strong support system. He shared that he felt very lucky to be his first colleague and described him as a friend, a philosopher, a guide. In an interview with Atncanada’s YouTube channel, he said: “Of course I had Akshay Kumarwho I now consider a friend, a philosopher, a guide in business. To feel that you were protected and not exploited in any way and that people cared about you. Akshay has also always been very supportive.” Talking about how Akshay guided her and Priyanka, Lara said, “Both Priyanka and I were coming in at the same time. She saw two young girls coming with stars in their eyes and she had no guidance and no direction. And she didn’t take advantage of that. Today, I think she’s a very street-smart person. A really strong starting point.“Meanwhile, producer Andaaz Suneel Darshan earlier reported about Akshay and Priyanka’s relationship after the film. At that time, she was married to Akshay Twinkle Khannaand Darshan claimed that this situation led to complications in another project.Recalling the situation in an earlier interview to Bollywood Hungama, he said that he had to replace Akshay in Barsaat despite having already shot a song. As he explained, “I also learned about other issues that arose between him and his wife. He had problems with Priyanka, they told me… I feel that the profession has its risks. Sometimes proximity, sometimes one’s lifestyle, all these things get in the way and the media takes it out of proportion, not realizing how much loss a filmmaker can suffer…”.He is currently married to Priyanka Chopra Nick Jonasand the couple are parents to daughter Malti Marie. Akshay and Twinkle, on the other hand, have been happily married for over 25 years.
