That Priyanka Chopra pays tribute to Sharmila Tagore in "Teri Meri Kahaani"", having adopted her clothing and especially her hairstyle, is widely known. But what the filmmaker Kunal Kohli has managed to keep secret so far is that in one of the three phases in the film, Priyanka plays an actress on 1960's who's run away from her home in Lucknow to become a superstar in Mumbai.

But now that the film is just a few days away from release, Kohli is more than happy to talk about the film's UP connect. "Yes, Priyanka plays a girl from Lucknow who's run away from home to make career in the film industry, along with a friend," agrees Kohli when asked, and adds, ""in fact there is even a dialogue between her and shahid in the film where she tells him that 'Hum aur hamari dost toh Lucknow se bhaag ke aaye the, films mein kaam karne ke liye.'

Clearly, filmdom's UP connect is only on the rise and Kohli offers an interesting reason as to why he wanted to place Priyanka in a lakhnavi setting. He says, ""I like to place very strong women characters in my films, and I like them to be from different cultural milieus.

For instance, in Fanaa, Kajol was from Srinagar, and she was this understated yet powerful voice. Similarly, Rani in "Hum Tum"" was from Delhi and had quite a mind of her own. For ""TMK"" I was very sure I wanted an actress from the 60's who could captivate people with her adaa. My film's character was supposed to be this woman who is beautiful both from the inside and the outside.

She had to have a nazaakat... And what better place to imbibe those cultural values than Lucknow. You notice it when Rukhsaar walks into a room. Woh jab jhuk ke adaab karti hai, the way she does it, with so much dignity and grace, everybody's eyes are on her and on that one gesture."

Of course, it helped that Priyanka has spent a part of her student life in Lucknow when she studied in La Martinier. Says Kohli, ""I did not know of Priyanka's Lucknow connection or anything because I wrote the script even before the casting. But yes, her knowledge of the area certainly helped."

In a text message, Priyanka Chopra too evinced her excitement at playing a Lucknow girl, saying, ""I did study for some time in Lucknow. One of the key characteristics that I have infused in Ruksar is the dignity with which she speaks and conducts herself. It is something I learnt during the time I spent in Lucknow."