Priyanka Chopra went into ‘deep depression’ after a botched nose surgery almost ended her career

Priyanka Chopra recently opened up regarding a nose surgery that went wrong in the early 2000s and how it adversely affected her mental health and career.

Sharing her experience on an episode of The Howard Stern Show, the Love Again actor said that she had a botched nose surgery after doctors suggested she get a polyp in her nasal cavity removed, according to People magazine.

“It was a dark phase,” she said. During the procedure, the doctors made a mistake. “This thing happens, and my face looks completely different, and I went into a deep, deep depression,” said the Quantico actor.

Chopra began her Bollywood journey after she was crowned Miss World in 2000. Initially well sought after, the actor recounted being fired from three different films after her surgery and it made her believe her acting career “was over before it started.”

The situation for the Fashion actor got so bad that she did not want to leave her house. That’s when her father — who was a doctor himself — convinced her to get a corrective surgery. “I was terrified of that, but he was like, ‘I will be in the room with you,’” said Chopra. “He held my hands through it and helped me build back my confidence.”

Bollywood film director Anil Sharma also helped Chopra get her confidence back. “I was supposed to play this lead, and I was shifted to a supporting character. That filmmaker was very kind,” she said “He, while the tide was against me, said, ‘It will be a small part but give it your all.’ And I did.’”

Previously, she touched upon her botched nose surgery in her memoir, Unfinished. She recalled that the aftermath made her feel “devastated and hopeless.”

“I was having trouble breathing. This is a problem someone with asthma can’t ignore,” she wrote in her book. She remembered having a “lingering head cold” in the summer of 2001 — at the time she believed it to be a “very bad sinus infection.”

She ended up seeing a doctor recommended by a family friend, who discovered a “polyp in my nasal cavity that would need to be surgically removed”.

“While shaving off the polyp, the doctor also accidentally shaved the bridge of my nose and the bridge collapsed. When it was time to remove the bandages and the condition of my nose was revealed, Mom and I were horrified. My original nose was gone. My face looked completely different. I wasn’t me anymore,” she said.

The Bajirao Mastani actor also opened up about other aspects of her 23-year long career and personal life during the interview, such as her atypical upbringing, romance with singer Nick Jonas and her journey from being one of the biggest stars in Bollywood to cementing her place in Hollywood.