Actor Mannara Chopra became the first contestant to enter the Bigg Boss 17 house in the premiere episode, which aired on Sunday. Mannara is the cousin of actors Priyanka Chopra and Parineeti Chopra. The Bigg Boss 17 contestant’s mother, Priyanka’s father and Parineeti’s father are siblings. On Friday, Priyanka gave Mannara a shout out on social media and shared their throwback picture. Read more: Priyanka, Parineeti, Mannara stay up-to-date with each others’ lives thanks to their cousins’ WhatsApp group

Priyanka’s old photo with Mannara

Wishing Mannara the best for her Bigg Boss 17 journey, Priyanka wrote on Instagram Stories, “Throwback to little Mannara Chopra. Good luck little one (red heart, folded hands and flexed biceps emojis).”

The accompanying old picture was taken after Priyanka Chopra won the Miss World 2000 pageant. She wore the Miss World crown and posed with a young Mannara at an event. Mannara, who has worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and Kannada films, was likely in her preteens at the time.

Mannara Chopra on Priyanka’s popularity

In a recent interview with The Indian Express, Mannara Chopra, whose real name is Barbie Handa, opened up about if her cousins’ popularity affected her career.

When asked if the comparisons with Priyanka or Parineeti Chopra led to her not being offered good roles, Mannara said, “I have done quite a many films which are on big OTT platforms. Also, for me content is very important and I am kind of choosy. I look for my comfort level. Also, when I was offered films in Hyderabad with the biggest of names, I said why not? Today, films are no longer categorised to just Bollywood. I know a lot of people in Mumbai who are moving to the south. So I don’t know in what context you are looking but from my business context, I am doing fine.”

Mannara Chopra on her Bigg Boss stint

The actor also said in the interview, “I am not doing this to prove myself or something to anyone. It was an exciting opportunity and in a time of social media and reality show, I felt it was the right choice.”

Mannara Chopra’s career

After college, Mannara moved from Delhi to Mumbai, where she started her career in modelling. She made her Bollywood debut with Anubhav Sinha’s Zid (2014), co-starring Karanvir Sharma. However, her first release was the Telugu film Prema Geema Jantha Nai (2014). Since then, she has worked in Telugu films such as Jakkanna (2016), Thikka (2016), and Rogue (2017), among others.

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