PRIYANKA Chopra does it effortlessly. Heads turn every time she enters a room. No matter where. People stand to attention, they scurry to cater to her. 
It's her sheer presence. That star quality that won her the Miss World 2000 crown. 

It's also the way she makes you feel so special when she looks at you from the big screen that has really spun the magic for one of Bollywood's best exports. Now she will do it in Kuala Lumpur in real life. 

At the Global Leadership Forum in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 1 and 2, Chopra will speak on leadership and "innovating the competitive edge" to an international audience of community and industry leaders. She is all of 24. 

Other luminaries at the forum include Michael Eisner, CEO of Walt Disney Company, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web and Michael Basch, founder of FedEx. Donald Trump will take part via satellite. 

"Leadership? I'm not sure if that's the right word but people look up to me, they listen," she says sweetly. "I might not have the experience of other leaders but being a cinema celebrity gives me an edge. I use the opportunity to get people to listen." 

That's the first sign of leadership. Someone who knows when people are listening. 

"When you are a celebrity, people look up to you," she says. "I'm sure what I say and do has consequences. It's a powerful position to be in." 

Answers like this make her a media darling. As does strategic grace. When Aishwarya Rai was said to have hijacked a coveted role from her, Chopra simply said Ash was far more suitable for the role. The industry was silenced. She smelled like roses. In the viciously competitive industry of showbusiness, giving way like that is a gamble. 

A down-to-earth attitude and a gracious disposition has paid off. After winning the Miss World title, Chopra dived into modelling. Soon, she was on a Bollywood set. Since her first film, Thamizhan, four years ago, Chopra has worked on movie projects back-to-back and sometimes simultaneously. Other films include The Hero (2003), Andaaz (2003) and The Plan (2004). 

Earlier this year, she worked with Shah Rukh Khan to shoot Don in Malaysia. "I really enjoyed working in Malaysia and I'm looking forward to returning," she says. 

Her newest release, Krrish, was shot in Singapore. Her co-star? Dreamy Hrithik Roshan who was present at its launch there recently. She stunned the Singaporeans as they celebrated Bollywood for choosing the island to shoot movies. 

She has not realised her ambition to become a software engineer but her doctor parents, Ashok and Madhu Chopra, are said to be proud of their daughter's film achievements. 

Chopra began her studies at La Martiniere College in Lucknow and the Maria Goretti College in Bareilly, India. She completed her tenth grade in the US. 

Between samosas at the Fullerton Hotel and a loop of MTV-styled song and dance clips from Krrish, it's easy to see why she might be mistaken for a celluloid sex kitten. 

Yet, she answers questions with seasoned ease and is not the least flustered when she is asked something politically incorrect. In a sexist film industry, where an actress can easily offend directors and feminists, she seems to carry herself with practised ease. 

"I don't think film critics have a different set of expectations from me because I'm a beauty queen as compared with other stars," she says. "And I value what they have to say, especially if it's going to help me." 

In her five years in India's film capital, Mumbai, she has refused to raise hemlines and lower necklines. She avoided the customary baring of skin and burning the screen with too much sex appeal. Yet, she's up there with the established names and getting the attention of topnotch directors like Sajid Nadiawalas, Abbas Mustan and Rakesh Roshan. 

Her self-confidence and articulate responses are now renowned through the Indian diaspora. Her ability to handle the terrifying tabloid Press amounts to some kind of leadership. 

Still, her most spectacular skill is to listen as you speak, and to always make you feel like you are the most important thing at that moment. 

* For more details on Meet The Future Face to Face (Global Leadership Forum) at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur, visit www.globalleadership.forum.org. 

(c) 2006 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.