MUMBAI • A street protest was held in the Indian capital of New Delhi last Saturday while a film critic urged the government to cancel Priyanka Chopra's passport and not allow her to return to her homeland.

Yesterday, the Bollywood superstar apologised after a plot twist in American television series Quantico - in which she stars as an FBI agent - sparked a furore.

In the episode shown on June 1, her character unveils a terrorist plan hatched by Indian Hindu nationalists who intend to deflect the blame to Pakistan.

After the show aired, many people in India took to social media to lambast Chopra as a "traitor".

In her tweet yesterday, the former Miss World said she was "a proud Indian and that will never change".

"I'm extremely saddened and sorry that some sentiments have been hurt by a recent episode of Quantico," Chopra, 35, wrote.

"That was not and would never be my intention. I sincerely apologise."

The outcry is a turnaround from the pride that many Indians had felt when Chopra became the first Indian to headline a United States network series and gain a foothold in the Western entertainment industry.

ABC Studios, the producer of the crime drama, has also offered an apology while defending Chopra, who is the lead actor of the show.

"The episode has stirred a lot of emotion, much of which is unfairly aimed at Chopra, who didn't create the show, nor does she write or direct it," US media quoted the studio as saying in a statement.

"The show has featured antagonists of many different ethnicities and backgrounds, but in this case we inadvertently and regrettably stepped into a complex political issue. It was certainly not our intention to offend anyone."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE