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| Preity Zinta |
Born January 31, 1975 (1975-01-31) (age 33)
Shimla, Himachal
Pradesh, India
Years active 1998ΓΆβ‚¬β€œpresent
Spouse(s) None
Domestic
partner(s) Ness Wadia (2005ΓΆβ‚¬β€œpresent)
Official website
Awards won
Filmfare
Awards
Best Female Debut:
1999 Dil Se & Soldier
Best
Actress:
2004 Kal Ho Naa Ho
Preity Zinta , born January 31, 1975) is an Indian film
actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu
and English-language movies. After graduating with a degree in criminal
psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a
role in Soldier the same year. These performances earned her a Filmfare
Best Female Debut Award, and she was later recognised for her role as a
teenage single mother in Kya Kehna (2000). She subsequently played a
variety of character types, and in doing so has been credited with
changing the image of a Hindi film heroine.
Zinta received her
first Filmfare Best Actress Award in 2003 for her performance in the
drama Kal Ho Naa Ho. She went on to play the lead female role in two
consecutive annual top-grossing films in India: the science fiction film
Koi... Mil Gaya, her biggest commercial success, and the star-crossed
romance Veer-Zaara, which earned her critical acclaim. She was later
noted for her portrayal of independent, modern Indian women in Salaam
Namaste and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, top-grossing productions in overseas
markets. These accomplishments have established her as a leading
actress of Hindi cinema.
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Early life and background
Zinta
was born into a Hindu Rajput family from Rohru in Shimla district,
Himachal Pradesh. Her father, Durganand Zinta, was an officer in the
Indian Army. He 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. Zinta has stated that
the tragic accident and her father's death was a significant turning
point in her life, which forced her to mature rapidly. She 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.
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. She 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
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. She was introduced as Preeti Nair, a middle-class Delhi girl
and Khan's fiancee. 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 she played. Her scene with Khan, in which she asked
him, "Are you a virgin?", became well-known, and her portrayal earned
her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award nomination. She played her
first leading role in the action-drama Soldier (1998), a commercial hit
of the year. She won the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for her
performance in both Dil Se and Soldier.
Zinta next acted in two
Telugu films, Premante Idera (1998), opposite Venkatesh; and Raja
Kumarudu (1999), opposite Mahesh Babu. She 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. Zinta 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.
Success
(2003ΓΆβ‚¬β€œpresent)
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. Zinta 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. She
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. Zinta played
Akash's schizophrenic wife Sonia Kapoor. The film received
predominantly positive reviews, and Zinta's role was particularly
praised. Taran Adarsh noted, "Preity Zinta comes up with another superb
performance, essaying her part with utmost sincerity"; The Tribune
concluded, "Zinta has outclassed everyone with her convincing
performance." For her performance, she received nominations for Best
Villain 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,
Zinta played the role of Nisha, a young woman whom Roshan befriends.
She 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 489 million; it won the Filmfare Best Movie
Award, among others.
Zinta with Shahrukh Khan as the Indian-American
Naina Catherine Kapur in Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), which earned the actress
her first Filmfare Best Actress Award.
Zinta's final release of
2003 was Kal Ho Naa Ho, a tearjerker 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 600
million worldwide. Zinta 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. She won several awards for her
performance, including the Filmfare Best Actress Award. Derek Elley from
Variety wrote, "Zinta, 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 she starred as TV journalist Romila Dutta in Farhan Akhtar's war
drama Lakshya, co-starring with Hrithik Roshan. The film was based on
the historical events of the 1999 Kargil Conflict; Zinta's character was
modeled 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; Rediff.com noted, "Zinta 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 Bollywood film of that year
in both India and abroad, earning over Rs 750 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 in major Indian award
ceremonies. Zinta's portrayal of Zaara, a smart Pakistani girl, was
praised; she received her fourth Filmfare Best Actress nomination and
won the Stardust Star of the Year Award for the second consecutive year.
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, Zinta 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. Her next release was Siddharth Anand's
comedy-drama Salaam Namaste, co-starring Saif Ali Khan. Produced by
Yash Raj Films, it was the first Indian movie to be filmed entirely in
Australia and went on to become the year's highest-grossing Bollywood
production overseas, with revenues of Rs 430 million internationally.
The film tells the story of a contemporary cohabiting Indian couple.
Zinta played the female protagonist Ambar Malhotra, a single modern
young woman who leaves India to make her own life in Australia. The film
was well received by critics, and Zinta's performance earned her
nominations for Best Actress at a number of award ceremonies. Taran
Adarsh wrote, "After Kya Kehna, Preity Zinta accepts the challenge of
portraying an unwed mother yet again in Salaam Namaste. The actor is
terrific, delivering her most accomplished performance to date. Her lip
locks with Saif Ali Khan will catch a lot of people unaware, but that's
the sign of a thorough professional." The New York Times noted, "She is
cheerleader-homecoming queen-fraternity sweetheart pretty, so even when
her characters are being unkind it's hard not to like her."
Zinta as a
fashion magazine editor Rhea Saran in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
Zinta
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 464
million, and grossed over Rs 445 million overseas, the biggest Bollywood
success of all time in the overseas market. 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. Zinta played the role of Rhea Saran, a fashion magazine editor.
She described the role as an attempt to shed her vivacious public image.
The Indian Express concurred that this was successful, stating, "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 skillfully 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 Preity, well guys you’ve dialed the wrong number
this time."
She 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 received
positive reviews from critics, yet performed poorly at the box office.
Zinta played the role of Piya, the cynosure of two men. Although she was
mostly criticised for taking a small role, her performance was
generally well-received. Raja Sen described her role as "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. She doesn't have much to do in Jaan-E-Mann, but looks
appropriately attractive." Zinta 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 Zinta
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. She was criticised for her performance;
The Times of India wrote that "she is too plastic as the Paki-Brit
girl".
Later in 2007, Zinta began working with art film
directors, and turned towards neo-realistic movies, known in India as
parallel cinema. She acted in her first English film, Rituparno Ghosh's
The Last Lear, as a struggling theatre actress opposite Amitabh
Bachchan. The film premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film
Festival, and was received well. The first reviews were approving, with
one critic writing "It's great to see her doing a completely natural
role. She played her role with real dignity and it was a pleasure seeing
her getting back to her initial style of acting." Zinta 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."
Zinta
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. Zinta 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
preperation for the role, Zinta attended Anupam Kher's acting school to
learn the dialect and mannerisms of a Punjabi woman.
As of April
2008, Zinta has completed shooting for Jahnu Barua's drama Har Pall, as
well as Deepa Mehta's Canadian movie Heaven on Earth, a Punjabi language
drama based on the true story of a non-resident Indian battered wife.
Other work
Column writing
In
2004, Zinta joined a group of South Asian commentators for BBC News
Online. She 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", Zinta analysed the eve teasing phenomenon in
India, and criticised those who practice it. She 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.
Stage performances
Zinta performing
at the Temptation 2004
Zinta 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 September 11, 2001 attacks, and the team
prepared to return to India as soon as possible. However, the shows
continued successfully in Canada. In 2002, she participated in the show
From India With Love in the UK, along with Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan,
Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. The show took place at two outdoor
venues, Manchester's Old Trafford Football Stadium 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, Zinta was
part of the Heat 2006 world tour, along with Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali
Khan, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley.
Humanitarian
work
During her years in the film industry, Zinta
has been involved with different charities, and has supported
women-related causes in India, for instance protesting female
infanticide. She has also participated in AIDS awareness drives and
campaigns to clean up Mumbai.
In 2005, along with other Bollywood
stars, Zinta 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, Zinta
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. She 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, Zinta along with Rani Mukerji, donated Rs
250,000 of her winnings from Kaun Banega Crorepati to the Shimla
District Red Cross Society in Himachal Pradesh. In January, Zinta
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, she also met children with disabilities at a
special school maintained by the army. In August, along with
Mumbai-based artist Gurcharan Singh, Zinta 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. She spoke on
behalf of awareness against the practice, the need for protection and
rehabilitation for those rescued from it, and punishment for
perpetrators.
Ownership of IPL cricket team
Along
with Ness Wadia and others, Zinta 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 have
since named the team Kings XI Punjab. Zinta is the only woman to own an
IPL team, and is the league's youngest owner. She has been involved with
launching ticket sales and promoting the team. She 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."
FILMOGRAPHY
2011 - Helloo India ( Hindi )
2010 - Har Pall ( Hindi )
2009 - Videsh - Heaven On Earth ( Hindi )
2009 - Main Aurr Mrs Khanna ( Hindi )
2008 - The Last Lear ( English )
2008 - Heroes ( Hindi )
2007 - Jhoom Barabar Jhoom ( Hindi )
2006 - Krrish ( Hindi )
2006 - Jaan-E-Mann ( Hindi )
2006 - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna ( Hindi )
2006 - Krrish ( Tamil )
2005 - Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen ( Hindi )
2005 - Salaam Namaste ( Hindi )
2004 - Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa ( Hindi )
2004 - Lakshya ( Hindi )
2004 - Veer Zaara ( Hindi )
2003 - Koi Mil Gaya ( Hindi )
2003 - Kal Ho Naa Ho ( Hindi )
2001 - Dil Chahta Hai ( Hindi )
2000 - Mission Kashmir ( Hindi )
1999 - Raja Kumarudu ( Telugu )
1998 - Premante Ideraa ( Telugu )
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