That “26 years” is not an exaggeration. Long before Andaaz, Priyanka and Lara were crowned Miss World and Miss Universe within the same year, in 2000, the moment that first put both of them on a path toward Bollywood.
From beauty queens to co-stars
Andaaz, directed by Raj Kanwar, brought the two beauty queens together on screen for the first time in 2003, alongside Akshay Kumar. It marked Lara’s acting debut, and the pairing itself was the film’s biggest selling point, two reigning pageant titleholders sharing a screen for the first time in Indian cinema. It paid off: the film grossed close to ₹29 crore against an ₹8 crore budget and ranked among the year’s highest earners. The pair would go on to share the screen once more in Farhan Akhtar’s Don 2, where Priyanka played the lead role of Roma and Lara appeared as Ayesha.
A Wimbledon regular
Priyanka’s own trip to Wimbledon made headlines beyond the reunion, too. She took a front row seat for the women’s singles semi-final between Karolína Muchová and Coco Gauff, and made sure her husband Nick Jonas did not miss out, FaceTiming him a few seconds of the action from the stands. “It’s wonderful this season. Usually Nick accompanies me to Wimbledon and he’s a big fan but he wasn’t able to do that this time as he’s back home in LA,” she said. “It was a three-second video call, all of us do that.”
What’s next for both of them
Priyanka is preparing to return to Indian cinema after an eight year gap, starring in SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi alongside Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran, a globe-trotting story blending mythology and science fiction, due in cinemas in April 2027. Lara, meanwhile, is reportedly part of Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, one of Indian cinema’s most expensive productions to date, with a reported budget of ₹4,000 crore. The first of its two parts, also featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Sai Pallavi and Sunny Deol, is scheduled for release on Diwali 2026.
I’m a passionate journalist and creative writer graduate specialising in arts, culture, and storytelling. My work aims to engage readers with stories that inspire, inform, and celebrate the richness of human experience. From arts and entertainment to technology, lifestyle, and human interest features, I aim to bring a fresh perspective and thoughtful voice to every story I tell.
