Despite being two of Bollywood’s biggest contemporary stars, Deepika and Priyanka have consistently supported each other. Let’s take a quick look back at their history of mutual respect.

When Priyanka, Deepika dismissed rumors of rift between them like queens (YouTube/@erosnowmusic_)

Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra were “girl’s girls” even before it was a trend. Both actresses were frequently confronted with questions about their supposed rivalry, but these queens made sure no one tampered with their genuine bond.

Let’s look back at one of those times when the original “it girls” of Bollywood ensured they had each other’s backs, even as the world made countless assumptions.

Back in 2016, when Priyanka Chopra had already forayed into the West, the actress once had an encounter with a reporter at an event when the man indirectly asked about their rivalry. He started his question by appreciating her global feat and made a note that Deepika had also started doing well in Hollywood.

The reporter asserted that the news about their Bollywood competition turning into a global competition is doing rounds and whether she has a say on it.

Priyanka in her savage style replied, “I thought you guys used to say that we were friends, now it has become a competition. Everyone earlier wrote we were BFFs, so how did it change, when did it change, and why did it change?”

When the reporter told PeeCee, “You will tell us,” she replied, “No, I didn’t say that it has changed, you are saying that it has changed.

I am clarifying that nothing has changed, we are the same as we were. Your perspective has changed, which you should not change.” I mean that’s exactly how you shut people when they try to fuel distress between two friends – just queen behaviour.

We also remember one such interview that Deepika Padukone gave the same year to Vogue India where she opted for silent treatment to the one who asked if her bond with Priyanka had soured.

However, she did share her thoughts, saying, “We have had very different beginnings. I still remember I was in school when she won Miss World! I’ve known her for many years and nothing has changed.”

She further rejected the presumed notion that two actors are bound to have competition if they have similar career trajectories and insisted, “Everyone will have a different path and a different journey.”

Deepika in another interview with Hindustan Times thanked the journalist for asking about her ‘friend’ Priyanka Chopra. “I like the fact that you use the word ‘friend’ because that’s what she is to me,” Padukone said stressing that whenever she reads anything that doesn’t mention that PeeCee is her friend leaves her surprised.

The Padmaavat actress further shared that she has known Priyanka for years and that any comparisons between them are “extremely awkward and weird.” “I don’t even believe that we are professional rivals. We never were.

So, why should we be now? She is doing amazing work in her own space. And what her work will require from her in terms of time and other commitments are different from what I am working towards or what I am doing,” Deepika added.

On the work front, Deepika and Priyanka shared screens together in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Bajirao Mastani (2015).

Their dance sequence in the song Pinga was largely hailed and became iconic. PeeCee earlier made a special song appearance in the Deepika-led movie Goliyon Ki Rasleela: Ram-Leela.