-:::Preity Zinta:::-
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| Preity Zinta |
Preity Zinta (pronounced
[ˈpriːt̪i ˈzɪɳʈaː]; born 31 January 1975
is an Indian film actress.
Preity has appeared in
Hindi films of
Bollywood, as well as
Telugu,
Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in
criminal psychology, she made her acting debut in
Dil Se.. in 1998 followed by a role in
Soldier the same year. These performances earned her a
Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, and she was later recognised for her role as a teenage single mother in
Kya Kehna
(2000).
Preity subsequently played a variety of character types; her film
roles along with her screen persona contributed to a change in the
concept of a Hindi film heroine.
she received the
Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 2003 for her performance in the drama
Kal Ho Naa Ho.
Zinta went on to play the lead female role in two consecutive annual top-grossing films in India: the science fiction film
Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), her biggest commercial success
and the
star-crossed romance
Veer-Zaara (2004), which earned her critical acclaim.
Preity was later noted for her portrayal of independent, modern Indian women in
Salaam Namaste (2005) and
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), top-grossing productions in overseas markets.
These accomplishments have established her as a leading actress of Hindi cinema.
Her first international film role was in the Canadian film
Heaven on Earth, for which
Preity was awarded the
Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress at the 2008
Chicago International Film Festival.
In addition to movie acting, she has written a series of columns for
BBC News Online
South Asia, is a social activist, a television presenter, and a regular
stage performer.
Zinta is the founder of the production company
PZNZ Media and, along with ex-boyfriend
Ness Wadia, a co-owner of the
Indian Premier League cricket team
Kings XI Punjab.
Preity is known in the Indian media for publicly speaking her mind and
openly expressing her opinions, and consequently has sparked the
occasional controversy.
These controversies include her being the only witness not to retract in court her earlier statements against the
Indian mafia during the 2003
Bharat Shah case, for which she was awarded the
Godfrey Phillips National Bravery Award.
-:::Early life and background:::-
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| Preity Zinta |
Zinta was born into a family from
Rohru in
Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh.
Her father, Durganand Zinta, was an officer in the
Indian Army.
she died in a car accident when she was 13 years old; the accident also
involved her mother, Nilprabha, who was severely injured and
consequently remained bedridden for two years. she called the tragic
accident and her father's death a significant turning point in her life,
which forced her to mature rapidly.
Preity has two brothers; Deepankar and Manish, a year older and a year
younger respectively. Deepankar is a commissioned officer in the Indian
Army, while Manish lives in California.
she, who describes herself as a
tomboy
as a child, has emphasised her father's military background as having a
lasting impression on how family life was conducted. He asserted the
importance of discipline and punctuality to the children.
She studied at the Convent of Jesus and Mary boarding school in Shimla.
Although she confesses to loneliness in the boarding school, she noted
that it was compensated by her finding a "... perfect set of friends"
there.
As a student,
Preity developed a love for literature, particularly the works of
William Shakespeare and poetry.
According to Zinta, she enjoyed schoolwork and received good grades; in her free time
Zinta played sports, especially basketball.
Upon graduating from the boarding school at age 18, she enrolled at
St Bede's College in Shimla.
Preity graduated college with an
English honours degree, and then started a graduate programme in psychology.
Zinta earned a postgraduate degree in criminal psychology, but later took up modelling.
Zinta's first television commercial was for
Perk chocolates, the result of a chance meeting with a director at a friend's birthday party in 1996.
The director persuaded she to audition for the spot, and
Preity was
selected. Afterwards, she appeared in other catalogues and commercials,
including one for the soap
-:::Debut and early work, 1997–99:::-
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| Preity Zinta |
In 1997, Zinta met film-maker
Shekhar Kapur
when she accompanied a friend to an audition, and was asked if she
would audition too. Upon seeing her audition, Kapur insisted that she
become an actress.
Zinta was originally scheduled to make her screen debut
in Kapur's
Tara Rum Pum Pum opposite
Hrithik Roshan, but the filming was cancelled. Kapur later recommended her for director
Mani Ratnam's movie
Dil Se...
Zinta often recalls that when she joined the film industry, her friends
teased her that
Preity would typically "wear white saris and dance in the
rain", thereby motivating her to play different parts.
she commenced shooting for
Kundan Shah's
Kya Kehna, whose release was delayed until 2000.
The delay of another film,
Soldier, meant that her first release was
Dil Se.. (1998) opposite
Shahrukh Khan and
Manisha Koirala.
Zinta was introduced as Preeti Nair, a middle-class Delhi girl and Khan's
fiancée. The film was considered an unusual launch for a newcomer, as
her role called for only 20 minutes of screen time.
However, she was eventually noticed for her role, particularly for the forthright character
Preity played.
Her scene with Khan, in which
Preity asked him, "Are you a virgin?",
became well-known, and her portrayal earned her a nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Preity played her first leading role in the action-drama
Soldier (1998), a commercial hit of the year.
she won the
Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her performance in both
Dil Se.. and
Soldier.
she next acted in two
Telugu films,
Premante Idera (1998), opposite
Venkatesh; and
Raja Kumarudu (1999), opposite
Mahesh Babu.
Zinta followed with the leading role in the thriller
Sangharsh, alongside
Akshay Kumar. The film, based on
The Silence of the Lambs (1991),
was directed by
Tanuja Chandra and written by
Mahesh Bhatt. she portrayed the character of Reet Oberoi, a
CBI
officer who falls in love with a captured killer played by Kumar. The
film was not a box-office success, although Zinta's performance was
appreciated by critics.
-:::Breakthrough, 2000–02:::-
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| Preity Zinta |
Zinta's first role in 2000 was in the drama
Kya Kehna, which unexpectedly became a box-office success
The film addressed themes of
single parenthood and
teenage pregnancy, and gained she wider recognition from the public as well as film critics.
Her portrayal of Priya Bakshi, a teenage
single mother who fights social prejudice, earned her several award nominations, including her first nomination for
Best Actress at the
Filmfare Awards.
India Today reported that she belonged to a new breed of Hindi film actors that breaks away from character stereotypes.
Later that year, she starred in
Vidhu Vinod Chopra's drama
Mission Kashmir alongside
Sanjay Dutt and Hrithik Roshan. Set in the valley of
Kashmir during the
Indo-Pakistani conflicts,
the film dealt with the topic of terrorism and crime. Zinta's role was
that of Sufiya Parvez, a TV reporter and Roshan's childhood love. A
review in
The Hindu said about her performance, Zinta is her usual cherubic self and lends colour to the otherwise serious proceedings"
It was an economic success, becoming the third-highest grossing film of the year in India.
In 2001, she earned positive reviews for her role in
Farhan Akhtar's
National Film Award-winning
Dil Chahta Hai.
Depicting the contemporary routine life of Indian affluent youth, it is
set in modern-day urban Mumbai and focuses on a major period of
transition in the lives of three young friends (
Aamir Khan,
Saif Ali Khan and
Akshaye Khanna).
she starred as Aamir Khan's love interest, Shalini.
Dil Chahta Hai
was popular with critics, some of whom noted it broke new ground by
introducing a realistic portrayal of Indian youth. The film was a
moderate box-office success in India; it performed well in the big
cities but failed in the rural areas, which was attributed by critics to
the urban-oriented lifestyle it presented.
Rediff.com wrote of she that
Preity is beautiful and vibrant, wavering between endearingly naive and confused".
Three more 2001 releases featured she, including
Abbas-Mustan's romantic drama
Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, which was released after a one-year delay due to
the trial of producer Bharat Shah. This film was one of the first Bollywood movies to address the controversial issue of
surrogate childbirth she essayed the role of Madhubala, a
golden-hearted prostitute
hired as a surrogate mother. Initially reluctant to play the part, she
eventually accepted it at the directors' persuasion and, to prepare for
it, visited several bars and nightclubs at Mumbai's
red-light areas to study the lingo and mannerisms of sex-workers.
Preity received a second Best Supporting Actress nomination at the
Filmfare Awards for her performance, of which reviewer Sukanya Verma
wrote, "Preity , who clearly has the meatiest part of all, makes
the best of it. Her transformation from the cocky and unabashed
prostitute to a sensitive and warm person is amazingly believable."
In 2002, she collaborated once again with director Kundan Shah, as the protagonist in the family drama
Dil Hai Tumhaara, alongside
Rekha,
Mahima Chaudhry and
Arjun Rampal.
Although the film did not succeed at the box office, her portrayal of
Shalu, an adopted daughter craving love, was critically acclaimed.
Taran Adarsh from
Bollywood Hungama
noted, "... she, in an author-backed role ... steals the show
with a sterling performance. Her scenes with Rekha (second half) and
Alok Nath
(pre-climax) are simply outstanding. Here's a performance that is sure
to win accolades from the junta and critics whole-heartedly."
-:::Success, 2003–07:::-
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| Preity Zinta |
Zinta was the female lead in India's three highest-grossing films of 2003:
The Hero: Love Story of a Spy,
Koi... Mil Gaya and
Kal Ho Naa Ho.
The Hero, co-starring
Sunny Deol and
Priyanka Chopra,
is a patriotic drama about a spy network involving terrorists and an
Indian army officer. she played the part of Reshma, a villager who
falls in love with the officer and becomes part of this network. The
film, involving stunts never seen before in the cinematic history of
Bollywood, became the most expensive Hindi film ever produced at the
time.
Despite being the third highest-grossing film of that year, it failed to recover its production costs at the box office.
Preity next starred in
Honey Irani's directorial debut,
Armaan, alongside
Amitabh Bachchan and
Anil Kapoor.
This drama is set in a hospital and follows the travails of its
personnel and its principal, Dr. Akash, who struggles arduously to
sustain the institution financially. she played Akash's
schizophrenic
wife Sonia Kapoor, a role written specially for her and which
Preity liked
because it let her "give vent to all her frustrations".
The film received predominantly positive reviews, and she was particularly praised.
Khalid Mohamed called her a "peppy scene-stealer, achieving her manic mood swings dexterously."
For her performance, she received nominations for Best Performance in a
Negative Role at different award ceremonies, including Filmfare.
Rakesh Roshan's science-fiction film
Koi... Mil Gaya, about a
developmentally disabled
young man, followed. Co-starring with Rekha and Hrithik Roshan, she
played the role of Nisha, a young woman whom Roshan befriends.
Zinta
received another Best Actress nomination at the Filmfare for the role.
The movie was a financial and critical success and became the most
popular film of the year, as well as Zinta's highest-grossing movie,
with a domestic total of
Rs 425 million;
it won the
Filmfare Award for Best Movie, among others.
Zinta's final release of 2003 was
Kal Ho Naa Ho, a drama set in New York City. It was directed by
Nikhil Advani and written by
Karan Johar, co-starring
Jaya Bachchan,
Shahrukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan. The film was received favourably by
critics and became India's second-biggest hit of the year after
Koi... Mil Gaya.
It also did well internationally and became India's top-grossing film
of the year overseas, earning over Rs 750 million worldwide.
she played the role of Naina Catherine Kapur, an insecure and angry young
Indian-American woman who falls in love with a man who has a fatal
heart disease.
Preity won several awards for her performance, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Derek Elley of
Variety
wrote, "she, who's been carving a growing following the past three
years or so, has never been better, definitively moving from juve roles
to a charismatic young woman with her sexy, assured Naina."
In 2004
Preity starred as TV journalist Romila Dutta in Farhan Akhtar's war drama
Lakshya, alongside Hrithik Roshan. The film was based on the historical events of the
1999 Kargil Conflict; Zinta's character was modelled after TV journalist
Barkha Dutt,
the only female reporter assigned to the story. The film was a critical
success, yet her performance received mixed reviews; Namarata Joshi of
Outlook
likened her to "a teenybopper trying to do a TV newsreading skit for
her college fest" and Rediff.com concluded, "she has quite a good role
and a good deal of footage in the film, and she does a fairly decent
job of it without ever being spectacular."
Later that year,
Yash Chopra cast her opposite Shahrukh Khan as the female lead in the love saga
Veer-Zaara, the top-grossing Hindi film of that year in both India and abroad, with revenues of over Rs 900 million worldwide.
The film, which relates the love story of an Indian officer, Veer
Pratap Singh, and a Pakistani woman, Zaara Haayat Khan, had a strong
international release, including a screening at the
Berlin Film Festival, and won several Best Movie awards at major Indian award functions.
For her portrayal of Zaara, a role which required her to master the
fine nuances of Urdu language, she received her fourth Filmfare Best
Actress nomination.
Variety
hailed her as "the most interesting young actress of her generation,"
writing that she "is her usual lively self as the willful Zaara."
Veer-Zaara
was Zinta's second highest-grossing film and third major success in two
consecutive years. It marked the beginning of her work with
Yash Raj Films, one of the largest production houses in Bollywood.
In 2005, she appeared in two movies. Her first release was the folk comedy
Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen, co-starring
Govinda,
a production that had been delayed since 2002. The film garnered
negative reviews and poor box office returns. Zinta's role was small,
and was not well received.
Preity next starred opposite Saif Ali Khan in
Siddharth Anand's comedy-drama
Salaam Namaste.
Produced by Yash Raj Films, it was the first Indian feature to be
filmed entirely in Australia and went on to become the year's
highest-grossing Bollywood production outside of India, earning
Rs 570 million internationally.
The film tells the story of a contemporary
cohabiting
Indian couple and their subsequent struggle with an unexpected
pregnancy. she played the female protagonist Ambar Malhotra, a single
modern young woman who leaves India to make her own life in Melbourne.
Salaam Namaste
received mostly positive reviews, and Zinta's performance earned her
nominations for Best Actress at a number of award ceremonies. Taran
Adarsh referred to her as "terrific" and argued that
Zinta gave "her most
accomplished performance to date".
The New York Times
noted, "
Preityis cheerleader-homecoming queen-fraternity sweetheart
pretty, so even when her characters are being unkind it's hard not to
like her."
she at the 2006 IIFA Awards
she received further success in 2006, starring in Karan Johar's drama
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna with an ensemble cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan,
Abhishek Bachchan,
Rani Mukerji and
Kirron Kher.
The film became one of the biggest box-office hits in India, earning
Rs 458 million, and grossed over Rs 480 million abroad, the biggest
Bollywood success of all-time in the overseas market up until then. It
was her fourth overseas top-earner in four consecutive years.
The film tells the story of two unhappily married couples in New York,
and an ensuing extramarital affair.she played the role of Rhea Saran,
an ambitious fashion magazine editor.
Zinta described the role as an
attempt to shed her vivacious public image.
The Indian Express
concurred that this was successful: "The lady has not just looked
glamorous but she has walked with poise, sat with grace, smiled with
composure and spoke with calmness. Who would have thought that the
bubbly girl could so skilfully shed her age-old tag and walk away as the
don't-mess-with-me lass. So all those who are in search of the peppy she, well guys you've dialed the wrong number this time."
Preity then starred in
Shirish Kunder's romantic musical
Jaan-E-Mann, a story set in the United States about two men, played by
Salman Khan
and Akshay Kumar, who love the same woman. The film opened to mixed
reviews from critics and its eventual box-office profit was poor.
she played the role of Piya, the cynosure of two men.
Zinta was mostly
criticised for taking a role of minimal importance, though her
performance was generally well received.
Raja Sen labelled her role an "ornament throughout," but further stated
that she "comes vividly alive in the film's last scene, a moment that
makes you lament why filmmakers today don't let the babyfaced actress
have more fun instead of forcing her to sob copiously.
Preity doesn't have
much to do in
Jaan-E-Mann, but looks appropriately attractive."
she said that the film was a great relief after the more emotionally intense
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, as
Jaan-E-Mann was "easy, happy and much more simple".
In 2007 she portrayed a
British Pakistani woman, Alvira Khan, in her third project with Yash Raj Films,
Shaad Ali's comedy
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, alongside Abhishek Bachchan,
Bobby Deol and
Lara Dutta. The film was a critical and commercial failure in India.
Several critics panned her performance;
The Times of India
described her as "too plastic" and Rediff.com concluded, "From accent
to emotion, she is plain and simple insufferable in this film."
-:::New career prospects, 2007–Present:::-
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| Preity Zinta |
In 2007, following the failure of two of her commercial releases, Zinta began working with
art film directors, and turned towards neo-realistic movies, known in India as
parallel cinema Preity .
acted in her first English film,
Rituparno Ghosh's
The Last Lear, as a struggling film actress opposite Amitabh Bachchan. The film premiered at the
2007 Toronto International Film Festival, and was received well. Later reviews in India were approving, with
Rajeev Masand
writing, "Preity gets through her scenes competently, never
allowing her cute-as-a-button image to take away from the impact she
makes here as a conflicted, mature woman."
she said about her first art film, "I did think with art films that
they don't pay you, they don't feed you, but I was wrong, and I'm so
happy to be here."
she next starred in Samir Karnik's
Heroes (2008), a
road movie
about two final-year film students who, as a part of their assignment,
travel a thousand miles across North India to deliver three un-posted
letters written by army personnel who lost their lives during the 1999
Kargil war to their families. The story unfolds the journey of these
students in three chapters and follows how they meet and are inspired by
the families of the soldiers. she is featured in the first chapter as
Salman Khan's war widow, Kuljeet Kaur, a woman who becomes the sole
breadwinner of the family and single-handedly raises her son. In
preparation for the role, she attended
Anupam Kher's acting school, "Actor Prepares", to learn the dialect and mannerisms of a Punjabi woman.
The film was released to a mixed critical reaction, but her performance received rave reviews; Anand Singh of
Hindustan Times
wrote, "Karnik is merely interested in wringing tears the old-fashioned
way, and not in starting a debate. He succeeds—mainly because Preity she brings to a role a gravitas and dignity that is seen on the faces
of ordinary women—this may be her coming of age as an actress."
By April 2008, she had completed shooting for
Jahnu Barua's drama
Har Pal. In the same year
Preity played the leading role of Chand in
Deepa Mehta's Canadian film
Heaven on Earth, a
Punjabi language mystical drama based on the true story of a young Indian woman who, post an arranged marriage to a
non-resident Indian
man from Canada, migrates to Toronto and becomes a victim of severe
domestic abuse. Expressing her desire for "a new kind of acting
challenge", she described Mehta as one director she was longing to
work with in order to fulfill it.
To prepare for the part,
Preity read and watched several books and
documentaries on domestic violence. As the film was to be shot entirely
in Punjabi, a language that was totally alien to her,
Zinta learnt it in a
crash course of fifty days.
Preity was emotional during the making of the film: "I never knew a
character would effect me so deeply. I've become completely withdrawn
and introspective... I can't snap out of the She eventually called it her most challenging project, as it helped her "shed everything that Preity was about."
Heaven on Earth
was first screened at several film festivals and, upon release,
garnered career-best reviews for she. Her performance earned her the
Best Actress (Silver Hugo) award at the 2008
Chicago International Film Festival, for "her strong yet subtle performance as a woman struggling to keep her dreams despite brutal realities."
Among other awards,
Preity was acknowledged with Best Actress nominations at several award functions in Canada, including the
Genie Award by the
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, and the
Vancouver Film Critics Circle.
Following
Heaven On Earth, Zinta took a two-year sabbatical from movies, later explaining that she had chosen to focus on her work with
her cricket team.
In 2011
Preity launched her own production company,
PZNZ Media. Two years later and following numerous delays
Zinta, starred in her first film under the banner—the
Prem Raj-directed romantic comedy
Ishkq in Paris, which she also co-wrote.
An Indo-French collaboration, the film saw she as a half-Indian half-French Parisian woman alongside
Rhehan Malliek and
Isabelle Adjani.
Zinta's role required her to learn French and follow a strict diet and
fitness regime, for which she hired the services of celebrity trainer
Tracy Anderson.
Whilst the film bombed at the box office and received mostly negative
reviews, Zinta's performance attracted a mixed critical reception.
Sonia Chopra of
Sify called her "hugely likeable", and added that
Preity is a "good actress, astute producer and ... writer."
Raja Sen was more critical of her character and performance, and wrote,
"Her eyes sparkle with the eagerness of a jumpy squirrel, even when
they shouldn’t ... There is a bit too much enthusiasm, too much bounce
to her character, who shrugs all the time and nods rapidly and
constantly, like a big Preity bobble-head."
As of November 2013, she is currently filming for Neeraj Pathak's action comedy
Bhaiyyaji Superhitt.
Preity will be seen opposite Sunny Deol in the role of an aggressive Varanasi-based wife.
-:::Column writing:::-
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| Preity Zinta |
In 2004, Zinta joined a group of South Asian commentators for
BBC News Online.
Preity Zinta expressed joy at participating in the project, saying, "I am pretty
outspoken and have my own view on every subject. So it will be a good
platform for me to air my views."
Her first column, "The changing face of Bollywood", published in January 2004,
discussed the evolution of Bollywood in the past decade. The column
became one of the site's ten most read stories of the day. In her second
column, "Odds stacked against Indian women", she analysed the
eve teasing phenomenon in India, and criticised those who practice it.
Preity wrote, "Incidences like these take away a woman's dignity, her
space and her freedom ... why the state is so helpless in protecting the
women. Why should women feel unsafe in a country which had an
internationally revered woman prime minister?" The column caught the
attention of readers worldwide, and she received thousands of e-mails
about it.
It was applauded particularly by women for its stand against
abuse of Indian women.
Her third column, "The darkness that all actors fear", was a more
personal column and dealt with her stardom, fans, insecurity and fears
as an actor.
Her fourth and final column, titled "Facing death in Sri Lanka and Thailand", described her two
near-death experiences in late 2004.
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-:::Stage performances and television presenting:::-
Zinta performing at the Temptation 2004
she has taken part in several stage shows and world tours since 2001. Her first world tour, a series of concerts called
Craze 2001, was performed across the U.S. alongside Anil Kapoor, Aamir Khan,
Aishwarya Rai and
Gracy Singh. The show faced early cancellation due to the
11 September 2001 attacks, and the team prepared to return to India as soon as possible. However, the shows continued successfully in Canada.
In 2002,
Preity Zinta participated in the show
From India With Love in the UK, along with Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. It took place at two outdoor venues,
Manchester's
Old Trafford and London's
Hyde Park, with over 100,000 spectators.
Zinta's largest world tour was in 2004, when she joined a group of
stars (Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Rampal and
Priyanka Chopra) in the
Temptation 2004 tour. Showcased in over 22 countries across the world, it became Bollywood's most prominent international concert.
In 2006, she was part of the
Heat 2006 world tour, along with Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan,
Sushmita Sen and
Celina Jaitley.
The Unforgettable Tour (2008) saw she performing with the
Bachchan family and
Ritesh Deshmukh in a 40-day show staged in 11 cities across North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
In December 2012, she returned to the stage with the
Temptation Reloaded concert in
Jakarta (joined by Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji and
Bipasha Basu).
In 2011, she made her television debut as the host of the show
Guinness World Records – Ab India Todega on
Colors Channel.
An Indian version of
Guinness Book of World Records,
the show premiered on 18 March to an audience measurement of 3.3 rating
points, which made it occupy the 7th position on the chart of
celebrity-driven reality shows on Hindi entertainment channels.
In a four-star review for
Hindustan Times,
critic Rachana Dubey wrote, "she is a riot.
Preity Zinta ’s vivacious and
knows exactly when she needs to be serious and when she can crack
jokes."
Later that year, she started hosting the celebrity-based chat show
Up Close & Personal with PZ, shot at her own penthouse in Mumbai and broadcast on the newly launched channel
UTV Stars. The first episode aired on 3 September.
-:::Humanitarian work:::-
During her years in the film industry, she has been involved with
different charitable organisations and has particularly supported
women's causes in India, for instance protesting against
female infanticide.
Preity has also participated in AIDS awareness drives and campaigns to clean up
Mumbai.
In 2005, along with other Bollywood stars, she performed at the
HELP! Telethon Concert raising money for the victims of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
The following year, as an ambassador of the
Godfrey Phillips National Bravery Movement, she attended a
blood donation camp organised by the
Rotary Club of
Delhi
and the Godfrey Phillips Awards. She lent her support to the cause of
women's empowerment and promoted blood donation.
Zinta said, "Donating
blood doesn't kill one but goes on to save somebody's life . Once
blood is donated it becomes universal and might be used by anyone in
need, irrespective of community, caste or region. It binds people
together."
In 2007, she visited
Hisar,
Haryana, where she spent a day at the army training base to boost the morale of the
jawan troops. The visit was conducted for an
NDTV show,
Jai Jawan, on which entertainers and actors visit Indian troops. While there,
Preity also met children with disabilities at a
special school maintained by the army.
In August, along with Mumbai-based artist Gurcharan Singh, she painted for the cause of
street children for the non-governmental organisation
Khushi.
In December, she joined the efforts of the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to curb
human trafficking in India.
Zinta spoke on behalf of awareness against the practice, the need for
protection and rehabilitation for those rescued from it, and punishment
for perpetrators.
In 2009, on her 34th birthday, she adopted 34 girls from the Mother Miracle orphanage in
Rishikesh and took the responsibility of financially supporting their education, food and clothing.
Preity expressed her excitement at doing so: "I've adopted 34 girls. I'll
be looking after their entire upbringing from education to food, clothes
etc. You've no idea how wonderful it feels to hear the excited chatter
of all these girls together."
In January 2010, she was appointed the brand ambassador of
The Loomba Trust,
an organisation that works for the welfare of widows and their
children.
Zinta said, having lost her father at 13, she could relate to
the problems faced by widowed women.
Later in the year, she joined the
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) as their
Goodwill Ambassador
in India, to promote public awareness on HIV prevention, treatment and
support, with emphasis on women and children, and combat discrimination
against it. Speaking of her appointment, she expressed hope to be "the
voice for the voiceless" and bring about a "transformation in the minds
of people" through collaborative work.
In October 2010,
Preity was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the
University of East London.
It was awarded in honour of both her cultural contribution and her
humanitarian work, with the citation describing her as "an international
actress, pioneering star of Hindi cinema and devoted humanitarian. she has carved a path for women to follow."
-:::Ownership of IPL cricket team:::-
Along with Ness Wadia and others, she acquired ownership rights in 2008 for the Mohali-based
Twenty20 cricket team of the
Indian Premier League (IPL).
The group paid $76 million to acquire the franchise, and had since named the team
Kings XI Punjab.
Until 2009, she was the only woman to own an IPL team, and was the league's youngest owner.
Preity has been involved with launching ticket sales and promoting the team.
Zinta said, "My involvement with the team is total. I am extremely
passionate about our team and I do believe that I am the team's good
luck factor, so I want to be there for everything."
-:::Personal life:::-
Zinta used to visit her native town Shimla when not busy in shooting. In 2006, she moved into her own home in Mumbai.
She does not identify with any particular religion. In an interview with
The Times of India,
Preity Zinta comments, "I believe in good deeds, in
karma,
I don't believe in going to temples. For me, religion is very personal.
It's all about having faith ... We have heard and read that all
religions are equal. Now I am increasingly believing in this."
Preity narrowly
escaped death twice in late 2004: first after an explosion at a Temptation concert in
Colombo, Sri Lanka; and second during the
Indian Ocean earthquake.
has been the subject of several controversies.
In 2003, as a witness in the
Bharat Shah case,
Preity testified against the
Indian mafia. Bharat Shah, the financer of one of her movies,
Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, was arrested in 2000 for having connections with
Chhota Shakeel, a Mumbai underworld boss.
Unlike several of her colleagues, she repeated in court her earlier statement that
Zinta had received
extortion threats from the mafia during the shooting of the film.
After her testimony,
Preity was given
witness protection and was forced to stay out of the public eye for two months.
Thirteen other witnesses before her, including celebrities Salman Khan
and Shahrukh Khan, were witnesses in the case but later retracted their
earlier statements.
she was the only witness who did not become
hostile to the prosecution;
the nation responded positively to her actions.
Consequently, she was the first recipient of
Godfrey's Mind of Steel Award at the annual
Red and White Bravery Awards, given to her for the "courageous act" of standing against the Mumbai Underworld.
On receiving the award,
Zinta said, "To be brave is not to be fearless.
It is when you fear and you get over it, then you can be called brave. I
am human. It is not that I fear nothing. But getting over a fear is a
continuous process and I have been successful so far."
Since 2006, she has been the
brand ambassador for the Godfrey Phillips Bravery awards.
Tabloids have often linked she romantically with other Bollywood stars, but she has strongly denied any such rumours.
In 2000, she began dating model
Marc Robinson. They separated the following year, and according to she remained on good terms. Asked in
Filmfare about their break-up,
Preity spoke of "very, very fond memories of the times we were together and I'd like to keep it to that".
she dated the
Bombay Dyeing heir, businessman
Ness Wadia from February 2005 until May 2009.
Their relationship was often reported on by the media, with frequent speculation about an engagement or a break-up.
In December 2006, another controversy featured she when Ness Wadia
was reported to have attacked construction workers at her residence in
Bandra. Reportedly, a woman was critically injured and a child was hurt in the incident.
she reacted angrily at hearing these rumours reported in the national
news and confronted journalists, criticising their conduct
Preity .
challenged the press to deliver proof, and offered Rs 1
crore (Rs 10 million) if an injured woman was found. No evidence was found and the rumour has subsequently been regarded as false.
In March 2007, she was involved in a scandal when actress and singer
Suchitra Krishnamurthy cited her as the cause of her divorce from Shekhar Kapur, alleging that Zinta was having an affair with him.
Although initially silent on the issue, after another accusation by
Krishnamurthy, she retorted, "It is unfortunate that I am bearing the
brunt of someone else's paranoia. She's clearly unstable and I wish her a
speedy recovery.
Preity "
issued a statement that she had met Kapur only five times in ten
years and publicly demanded that he step forward and clear her of the
accusation.
Thereafter, the controversy came to an end.
-:::In the media-:::-
Zinta is particularly known in the Indian media for her
straightforwardness and for honestly expressing her forthright opinions
in public, be it about her on-screen or off-screen life or raising a
voice against any social injustice.
These features were noted during the Bharat Shah Case, when she
testified against the underworld; following this incident she was
described by journalists as "The only man in Bollywood".
Her characteristic dimple has been cited by the media as her trademark.
Zinta is often described by the press as having a vivacious personality
and a bubbly, outgoing persona, an image she has confessed to disliking.
Zinta at the 2004 IIFA Awards
According to film critic Sukanya Verma, Zinta's energetic nature
extends from her real-life into her appearances in films and is an
integral part of her technique. In an article discussing Hindi film
actresses and their flair for comedy, Verma wrote, "What can you say
about an actress who giggles non-stop in a tone that is anything but
prim and propah?
Preity is carefree. She is animated. She talks non-stop.
Zinta laughs all the time.
Preity has a chilled out sense of humour. And a
tomboyish streak too. Preity she is all that and more. All this
greatly contributes to her style of acting."
While reviewing
Chori Chori Chupke Chupke for
Hindustan Times,
Vinayak Chakravorty noted that "there is an admirable zest that she pumps into every role she does".
In a review of
Salaam Namaste,
Australian film critic Jake Wilson observed, "While Preity isn't
the subtlest actress, she's quite a comedienne - for a Hollywood
equivalent to her combination of beauty, high-strung emotion and facial
gymnastics you might have to go back to
Natalie Wood."
Following her portrayal of such characters as those in
Sangharsh,
Kya Kehna,
Chori Chori Chupke Chupke and
Salaam Namaste, she gained a reputation for playing roles that go against Indian
traditional mores and was often recognised for her versatility.
Critics attributed her roles in these films as to establishing a new image for leading actresses in Bollywood.
In the book
Once Upon a Time in Bollywood,
it is stated that she "resists patriarchal constraints through her
modern lifestyle and the controversial roles she chooses."
In 2003, she appeared in the number one spot on Rediff's "Top Bollywood Female Stars".
Zinta was ranked second for the following three years.
Zinta has been featured frequently on other Rediff lists, including "Bollywood's Most Beautiful Actresses",
"Bollywood's Best Dressed Women"
and "Woman of Many Faces".
In September 2006, the UK magazine
Eastern Eye ranked her at 41 in the list of "Asia's Sexiest Women".
In 2010,
Time magazine selected her as one of the candidates for its list of
the world's 100 most influential people.
Preity was the only Indian actress nominated for the poll and eventually did not make it to the final list, ranked at 144.
On 15 July 2005, Zinta filed a defamation suit against leading Mumbai tabloid
Mid-Day after tapes emerged alleging that Salman Khan had made derogatory comments about her.
The tabloid published transcripts indicating that
Preity had a sexual relationship with Khan, and she was
cross-examined
as a chief witness in January 2007.
Zinta said about the case, "I felt
humiliated as it spoiled my reputation and character in public."
Preity
told of disparaging phone calls she received from individuals pretending
to be Salman Khan, and that
Zinta had been repeatedly questioned in a
derogatory fashion by the media.
she further stated that the events affected her professionally as
well; a planned film with Khan was abandoned. The tape was examined by
the
Government's forensic laboratory in
Chandigarh which concluded that it was a fake.
Between 2006 and 2008 she made three consecutive appearances at the
Cannes Film Festival. At first she attended the
2006 Film Festival along with filmmaker Karan Johar to represent the Hindi film industry and promote Johar's then-forthcoming
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which featured Zinta in a leading role.
For the next two years,
Preity returned to Cannes as the brand ambassador of
Chopard, the maker of luxury watches and jewellery.
