Priyanka Chopra is Bollywood's Hilary Swank: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali compared actress Priyanka Chopra to Hollywood actress Hilary Swank, who portrayed the character of a boxer in her Oscar award-winning film 'Million Dollar Baby'.

Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Priyanka will be seen playing Olympic medal-winning boxer Mary Kom in a biopic produced by Bhansali. "If they (Hollywood) have Hilary Swank, we have Priyanka. She is a great talent and adds spark to her performance.

As an actress I think she is in the league of Nutanji and Waheedaji," Bhansali told reporters here at the trailer launch of 'Mary Kom' today. Swank won the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret 'Maggie' Fitzgerald, a waitress who aspires to become a boxing champion.

Bhansali's film is inspired by Kom's struggle and has been directed by Omung Kumar. The director producer said he did not take much time to say yes for the project.

"Omung told me about making film on Mary Kom around two years back, and I immediately said yes. There was no lengthy meetings or discussions," he said.