The American version of Citadel had a star-studded premiere in Mumbai and lead actor Priyanka Chopra said she couldn’t have asked for a better start to the international promotional campaign of the spy-thriller series. Citadel, executive produced by Joe and Anthony Russo, features Priyanka as elite spy Nadia Sinh opposite Richard Madden’s Mason Kane. Also read: Citadel premiere: Varun Dhawan, Rekha, Nora Fatehi and others attend with Priyanka Chopra
The Prime Video show had its first premiere here at PVR ICON, Palladium, on Tuesday night with the lead cast, including Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden, as well as some of the biggest names from the Indian film industry — veteran actor Rekha, Varun Dhawan, Raj & DK, Kabir Khan — walking the blue carpet.
“I’m very excited to be starting the global campaign for Citadel in India, my home. We will be travelling across the globe after this, but I’ve got good luck from millions from my country and I will carry it wherever I go, like I always do,” Priyanka told reporters.
The actor also spilled the beans about her first meeting with co-star Madden, known for shows such as Game of Thrones and Bodyguard. “Richard and I met for the first time at a social dinner. We got along when we met for the first time. Then we met at award functions and after parties. But when I met him for work, I knew he was a disciplined actor who likes to prepare like me. That’s why we get along so well,” she said.
The duo walked the blue carpet together. While Priyanka opted for a turquoise green Versace dress, Richard chose a charcoal black suit. Madden said it was an honour to work with Priyanka and he was happy that the show had its first premiere in India. “It’s a wonderful feeling to have the show premiere for the first time in India. I love the first time of things and it’s the first premiere for Citadel and my first time in India. I just wish I was here for longer,” the Scottish star, who was on three-day visit to the country, said.
Citadel follows elite agents Mason Kane and Nadia Sinh, who had their memories wiped as they narrowly escaped with their lives after independent global spy agency Citadel’s fall. It sees the two protagonists build new lives under new identities, unaware of their pasts. Until one night, when Mason is tracked down by his former Citadel colleague, Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), who desperately needs his help to prevent rival agency Manticore from establishing a new world order. Mason seeks out Nadia, his former partner, and the two spies embark on a mission that takes them around the world in an effort to stop Manticore, all while contending with a relationship built on secrets, lies, and a dangerous-yet-undying love, the official synopsis read.
The premiere was also attended by Priyanka’s mother Madhu Chopra, filmmakers Tanuja Chandra, Shonali Bose, Madhur Bhandarkar, Anubhav Sinha, Nikkhil Advani, Siddharth Roy Kapur and Vasan Bala in attendance.
Citadel is produced by Amazon Studios and the Russo Brothers’ AGBO. The first two episodes of the series will premiere on Prime globally on April 28 in 40 languages. It will also act as the flagship show that will blend with local shows already under production in India and Italy, starring Matilda De Angelis, Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, respectively.
Farzi creators Raj & DK are on board as directors and showrunners for the Indian installment. The duo said they have been working together with international teams for the show and having the first version premiere in India was exciting.
“It’s exciting to be one of the firsts to watch Citadel. I expected it of course. We have been working together. Several teams are working together and this is the first stop for the show,” DK said.
Dhawan said the huge scale of the show is pushing them to work harder. “It’s a tough job for all of us now. We are going to work really hard because we know what we are following.”
“It’s just a very amazing process to be a part of the universe created by the Russo Brothers. For us, it is like the Russo Brothers coming together with Raj & DK, so I couldn’t be happier being part of Citadel. It’s great to work under the leadership of these two and here I speak for myself and Samantha,” the actor said at the event.
Asked to drop a spoiler about the show, Dhawan said all he can share is that the American and Indian versions are “interconnected”. “PC and I spoke about the relationship between the Indian and American Citadel. They are interconnected. That’s the only spoiler I can give you.”
Actors Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor, Saqib Saleem, Mohit Raina, Shreya Dhanwanthry, Shweta Tripathi, Kubra Sait, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Patralekhaa, Aditi Rao Hydari, Rakul Preet Singh, Jim Sarbh, Neha Dhupia, Bhuvan Arora and Nora Fatehi were also present at the premiere.