I was called `browny` in US school: Priyanka Chopra

New Delhi: Priyanka Chopra, who went to high school for a few years in Boston, said she faced racial issues there as some fellow students called her "browny" and pointed a finger at her for being an Indian.

In an inspiring speech at the India Today Mind Rocks Youth Summit last evening, the 30-year-old actress took a crowd of hundreds of students through her life`s journey from being "gawky kid" to a Bollywood star. "I was living in Bareily, from there I went straight to Boston and joined school there. I didn`t know how to fit in. Also, I faced some racial issues. Some girls called me `browny` and I was typecast, pointed a finger at for being Indian," Priyanka said. The bullying ensued into a fight and Priyanka was suspended from school for three days. But the actress said going to school in America was a huge lesson in life as it taught her to be more confident. Delivering a speech on perfection, Priyanka said she is not perfect and it`s okay to be flawed as "long as you are being yourself. "My life was an epitome of imperfection. I`m not perfect like Aishwarya Rai, beautiful, stunning. I was a gawky kid, only thing I knew was to work hard and learn. I didn`t know how to act or win a beauty pageant. My career has been instinctive, but every situation taught me something." The former Miss World also said that life is all about taking chances and it`s not worth living if there are no risks involved. "Today I have the courage to do a commercial, mainstream film like `Barfi!`, when half of India doesn`t even know what autism is. But I have the courage to take that chance." "Barfi!", where Priyanka is playing an autistic girl, is set to release on September 14, a day after her debut international single `In My City` is set to be unveiled. "I am nervous about both `Barfi!` and my single coming together. I don`t know which one will people like. It`s a chance I am taking and a new journey I am embarking on. I have worked with the world`s biggest music label, Interscope, for this album. The single is also going to be the theme song for National Football League (NFL)," she said. The song `In My City`, featuring Black Eyed Peas rapper Will.I.Am, is Priyanka`s tribute to all the cities she grew up in. PTI