Ain’t nobody like my desi girl…

We are all familiar with that feeling…that feeling of checking something off the 'bucket list' snowballing into an indescribable sense of accomplishment. NEWSFLASH – Priyanka Chopra’s ‘bucket’ is filled to the brim, and probably overflowing. Yeah, she is AMAZEEEE(ing)! There isn’t any passport that could ever record the places she has gone (literally too FYI), the woman of substance we can only strive to become one day. But alas, fail terribly to get anywhere close to the cosmic piece of wonder this woman is!

From wearing Feminism as a badge, to debunking stereotypes in a wink, setting sartorial standards for an entire generation and always, always uphold her craft above all - she has been everything GOALS. As our bon homie turns 36 today, here’s decoding our ever attractive Junglee Billi’s Andaaz!

Home ground Innings

1. All of 17, Priyanka Chopra’s foray into the entertainment industry began at a young age when she won Miss India and went on to win Miss World, followed by Bollywood.
2. With a negative role she played early on in her career in Aitraaz, Priyanka put out a message clear and loud – she isn’t afraid of taking risks and certainly had arrived.
3. With a streak of hits like Bluffmaster!, Mujhse Shaadi Karoge, Krrish, Don, Salaam-e-Ishq amongst others, Priyanka escalated herself to the A-list, elbowing aside some bigwigs to beat them to atop. There has been no looking back for her ever since.
4. With Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion, Priyanka quite turned things around, attracting notices to her acting prowess. National Award for Best Actress came home too!
5. In time for Dostana, Priyanka’s popularity was scaling heights. Her sexy looks only made the fashion police swear by her statement.
6. Kaminey, 7 Khoon Maaf, Barfi! ­– Priyanka was the only big thing that happened to Bollywood. Experimentation is her A-game and the laurels and accolades that came with these movies only provided testimony to the same. Be it the dark and twisted Susanna Anna or the innocent, autistic girl Jhilmil Chatterjee – Chopra was a benchmark in her own self!
7. Sure, she has had her share of flops too. Who hasn’t had a fall ever? But she rose from it like a phoenix from ashes! Sample the aftermath of Pyaar Impossible! What’s Your Raashee, Zanjeer and Gunday.
8. Arguably, Priyanka was the only takeway from some of the box office duds she starred in. She set a record by playing 12 characters in one film, played a tough cop in the another…the list is endless
9. Enter Mary Kom. It was 2014's biggest movie and entered the coveted Rs 100 crore club. Another National Award in her kitty!
10. If you thought Priyanka only played the main leads, here, watch Zoya Akhtar’s Dil Dhadakne Do. Sometimes, it is okay to let someone else guide you through the way! She signed the multi-starrer wherein she played the role of Aisha, a successful entrepreneur, juggling between being happy in her marriage and keeping up with family expectations. Watch for the climax, you will love her, again!
11. Leave it to Chopra to steal the thunder, and take you by surprise when you least expect her to! That’s the beauty after all. Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone were a raging trend, thanks to their budding romance on the set of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film. But when Priyanka featured in a supporting role, she made sure everyone sat up and took note.
12. The actress has also bagged the honour of being the recipient of the fourth highest civilian honour of being a Padma Shri for her achievements in the industry.
13. In 2016, Priyanka forayed into production with her first Marathi film, Besides three National Awards, the movie, following year, swept trophies at all major awards shows.
14. She followed up the ginormous success of her first venture as a producer with several others including a Punjabi film Sarvann and a Bhojpuri one, Kaashi Amarnath.
15. A full-fledged Hindi movie heroine was producing films, let alone entering the regional stratosphere. With more content from different states in the pipeline, Priyanka’s truly an ambassador of all things incredible in Indian cinema.

On the world map

16. Quantico… ‘Nuff said. Proving to be India’s most successful export to the West, Priyanka wasn’t budging for anything less than a billboard on Times Square in New York. Because you know what they say…never do anything you are good at for free! The girl’s got the world dialed in.
17. In her first year in the United States, Priyanka became the first South Asian actress to bag the People’s Choice Award. She didn’t settle for just one trophy though!
18. Priyanka is also all set to make an American show based on the life of Madhuri Dixit, for ABC. I mean, could it get any better?
19. From entering the list of Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women, to attending Met Gala, being declared as the ‘Hottest Woman on Earth’ for four times by a magazine – the only one to do so, and making her big Hollywood debut with Baywatch, it wouldn’t be wrong to say – YOU CAN ALL GO HOME, there is nothing left to.
20. And for those living under a rock, thinking Quantico was Priyanka’s major breakthrough abroad, bye boy! Flashback to 2012, Chopra released her first international single, In My City followed with Exotic with Pitbull and Young And Free being her recent creation. Now, that’s MAJOR.
21. A tonic for the tired eyes in white at Oscars to twirling like a dancing girl emoji at Emmy’s to adding ‘gold’ to the Golden Globes ceremony – Priyanka has attended every, mind you, EVERY prestigious international red carpet, only to top the Google search later. The classic bombshell always grabs attention of the style watchers with her unique picks!
22. Besides dinning with former US President, Barack Obama along with Nina Dobrev, Will Smith, Kendall Jenner and many more biggies, Priyanka was the only Indian actress to attend the royal wedding of British royalty Prince Harry with her best friend Meghan Markle. No points for guessing she was the cynosure of the ceremony in a lilac outfit.
23. Give a girl the right shoes, and she can have the world at her feet! Priyanka took it quite literally it seems. She was the first Bollywood actor to get her "foot impression" at the famous Salvatore Ferragamo museum in Italy, joining the likes of the iconic Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Madonna and Drew Barrymore. GREEN ENVY.
24. Baywatch featured Priyanka alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Zac Efron. What you may not know of is that the villain’s role was that of a male actor, but specially was re-written for Chopra. See the magic?
25. She is a regular on Jimmy Fallon’s show. Our desi diva even beat the host in a hot chicken wings eating contest. Of course. She is incapable of losing! And she handed out a definition of GUTS by downing vodka shots on Ellen DeGeneres show. There are more such incidents she boasts of in her album.

Proud Philanthrophist

26. As a kid, Priyanka helped her parents set up medical clinics in villages of India.
27. After learning that her maid only sent her son to school and not her daughter, Priyanka decided to support the cause through ‘The Priyanka Chopra Foundation for Health and Education.'
28. Chopra has been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations since 2010, and was part of their film, Girl Rising, alongside Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. She created awareness about equal opportunities for the girl child.
29. The actress has been an active supporter of the ‘Save the Girl’ campaign and is UNICEF a goodwill ambassador too. She recently visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, and helped bring to light the plight of immigrants.
30. As an ambassador of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bhata Abhiyan, Priyanka helped rehabilitate an entire slum area in Versova.
31. The bold and beautiful starlet has ON record lent her support to gay rights. Can we have a special round of applause for just this?

Raw and real, hamesha

32. “I am someone who believes feminism is just a conversation about equality. It is not about hating or berating men. For eons, women have been treated as second class citizens and it's high time we are given the due credit," declared a proud feminist Priyanka Chopra. In times when celebrities shy away from the ‘F’ word, this girl here is spelling the forbidden and keeps no regrets.
33. She is someone who gives you the confidence to be absolutely comfortable in your own skin. Priyanka is not the one to ‘air brush’ reality and shuts down trolls about her body like a #BossLady 
34. She fights the good fight. Calling out the gender pay gap prevalent in the industry, Priyanka pays two hoots to sexism and demands moolah in exchange for all the hard work she puts in. You go, girl!
35. Priyanka, 36, is a successful woman with a loyal tribe of honest women. Women who help uplift each other. Always the one to laud her counterparts, and is always so inspiring

36. Last, but not the least, she is a true, deep, passionate and a mad lover! A mushy one in fact, who isn’t afraid to own her relationship in public, and goes to any extent to make her loved ones feel special. The best cheerleader and the biggest critic, with lots of care and affection bundled up in one!

Brownie Point

37. Priyanka will soon release her memoir Unfinished. Albeit fans pretty much know everything about this special one, we can't wait to read the behind-the-scenes updates! Another feather in her hat.

Bollywood, television shows, Hollywood, magazine covers, international film festivals and awards shows and front row at fashion weeks, there is, perhaps, nothing, this former Miss World is not a part of! As she turns 36 today, here’s wishing the omnipresent and the versatile Priyanka Chopra, a very Happy Birthday.

Forever girl crush. Major love.