Priyanka Chopra Jonas says her upcoming Prime Video series Citadel is the first project in her over two-decades long career where she was being paid equal to her male lead co-star.
Citadel, an ambitious spy drama slated to debut on April 28, is produced by the Russo Brothers' (filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo) AGBO and showrunner David Weil.
Chopra Jonas plays elite spy Nadia Sinh opposite Game of Thrones star Richard Madden in the globe-trotting series.
“I’ve been working in the entertainment industry for 22 years. I have done about 70-plus features, and two TV shows. When I did Citadel, I had pay parity with my male actor for the first time in 22 years," the actor, known for starring in blockbuster Hindi titles Barfi!, Bajirao Mastani, Kaminey, and Mary Kom, said.
She was in conversation with Amazon Studios and MGM boss Jennifer Salke at 2023 SXSW (South by Southwest) event.
Chopra Jonas asked Salke whether pay parity was possible at Amazon Studios because a female executive was heading it.
“There was no question to me that it was the absolute right thing to do... I see that change and find it inspiring... It takes a woman in the room to make space for stepping back, taking a pause... let’s gut-check this," Salke said.
Such decisions “have to be intentional and must become automatic,” she added.
Citadel will act as the flagship show that will blend with local shows already under production in India and Italy, starring Matilda De Angelis, Varun Dhawan, and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, respectively.
In the series, global spy agency Citadel has fallen, and its agents’ memories were wiped clean. Now the powerful syndicate Manticore is rising in the void. Can the Citadel agents recollect their past and summon the strength to fight back?, the official synopsis reads.
Chopra Jonas asked Salke about the process behind developing a project and the executive said it all "comes down to creative conviction".
“There’s no magic algorithm that tells us whether we should do something. This is an art; it comes down to creative conviction. We try to bring the content to life. In the case of Citadel, it was the belief that the IP would work outside of India and the US," the executive said.
The first two episodes of Citadel will premiere on Prime on April 28.
It features Madden as Mason Kane, alongside Chopra Jonas as Nadia Sinh, Stanley Tucci as Bernard Orlick, and Lesley Manville as Dahlia Archer.
Citadel is produced by Amazon Studios and the Russo Brothers’ AGBO.