She was the first to be cast for Bajirao Mastani, long before Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone joined the project.

Playing Kashibai, a vulnerable character, was far different from the tough image she's portrayed in films like Mary Kom. The film made her greedy, Priyanka admits."It is such a role that if you do it right, it will be a part of your legacy.Kashibai is a 500-year-old character, with no other reference available. People talk about Bajirao and Mastani's love story but the biggest reason to play Kashibai was to portray the story of a woman, who has never been spoken about in history. No one asks 'uskedil pe kya beeti, uska kya hua?'I rarely play such soft characters. Lately, I have played only tough characters,jo talvar utha ke tayyar hoti hai.Playing Jhilmil(Barfi)or Kashi is novel for me. It was a challenge to portray someone who can't protect herself. I had to play it with conviction to make people believe that the woman's heart was hurting."