Priyanka Chopra was once told to leave a film set when she asked for equal pay to her male co-star.

The actress, 38, was advised to ‘take the paycheque, which was nominal’ after she complained about salary inequality earlier on in her career.

The White Tiger star explained how she was ‘forced to work with the system’ because there were ‘so many other girls’ who would have taken the opportunity in her place.

Shocking: Priyanka Chopra was once told to leave a film set when she asked for equal pay to a male co-star, and was advised to ‘take the paycheque, which was nominal’ (pictured in 2019)

Speaking on the Skimm’d from The Couch podcast, Priyanka said she was told by a producer: ‘They said to take the paycheque which was nominal compared.

‘There’s so many other girls who will take this opportunity. And, you know, women in movies are interchangeable.

‘I didn’t do anything about it. I had to work within the system because that’s what we’re told… if you want this job, this is the only way.

‘It took hearing the conversations from other women banding together to give me the confidence to stand up for myself.’

Priyanka admitted it took a long time for her to be able to stand up for herself in the film industry, adding: ‘It took almost 15 years for me to get to that place where, you know, I could stand my ground.’

One in one out: The actress, 38, was told ‘women in movies are interchangeable’ when she challenged her unequal pay (pictured in her latest project The White Tiger)

Speaking on The One Show on Tuesday, the actress told how she was the first South Asian to land the lead in an American TV show.

Despite having had a successful Bollywood career since 2003, Priyanka detailed how she had to essentially start over to make the transition to Hollywood.

‘The concept of having a brown leading lady or man in mainstream entertainment wasn’t something people understood,’ she explained.

Priyanka’s latest project The White Tiger – based on the novel of the same name – has an all-Indian cast, which she hopes will help to ‘shift the narrative’ to see more equality in mainstream cinema.

‘The White Tiger is something I’m so excited about. It’s a movie which I’m extremely proud of,’ she said.

Tough: The star (pictured with husband Nick Jonas in 2020) explained she was ‘forced to work with the system’ because there were ‘many other girls’ who would have taken the opportunity

‘The fact that a movie with an all Indian star cast is the number one movie in the world on the biggest streaming platform in the world is historic to me and I’m really happy to be a part of that.’

The screen star previously insisted her acting career was a ‘fluke’ after shooting to fame when she won Miss World over 20 years ago.

Priyanka said: ‘I didn’t know I could be an actor. I didn’t know that was a professional choice that could be made.

‘I come from a very academic family. My parents are both physicians so I was expected to go into academics. I was smart. I wanted to be an engineer …

‘Then the entertainment business sort of happened to me by fluke. I was part of a beauty pageant and I won Miss World in 2000 and I started getting movie offers back in India.

‘I didn’t know what it was all about so my acting school was on set. I learned everything that I did by being thrown into the deep end and I suddenly realised that I was really good at it.’