At 51, Preity Zinta on choice, conviction and staying selective
At 51, Preity Zinta is clear about her priorities. With marriage and two children grounding her life, the actor is in no rush to return to the screen. True to her reputation for being selective, she has just one film lined up—Rajkumar Santoshi’s Lahore 1947, co-starring Sunny Deol and Shabana Azmi.
Says Preity, “I don’t need to work unless I’m convinced it’s worth my while. I’ve never done anything I didn’t believe in. There have been times when I’ve had to tell the director, ‘Sorry, sir, but the same emotion can be done differently. Why do we have to be so tacky?’ But such problems hardly crop up. When they do, my directors have invariably sambhaloed my character. For me as an actor, it’s very important to have the complete script with me before I agree to do a film. Most of the time I do get my way. And I’m thankful to God for that.”
Over the years, she has said no far more often than yes. “There have been lots of times when I’ve said no to seemingly lucrative offers. I’ve been told what a fool I am. But I’d rather go by my convictions. This is me, and I’ve to be true to myself. I’ve to be comfortable with what I do. When I become old I want my children and grandchildren to look proudly at my body of work. Imagine my kids turning to me and saying, ‘Oh God! Why did you do that?’”
Always forthright, Preity also reflects on a long-standing misunderstanding with Shah Rukh Khan after her debut film Dil Se. “My first release Dil Se was with him. We didn’t work together thereafter. There was a bit of misunderstanding. We weren’t fighting or anything. We both stood our ground. I think we just let each other be. And we both listened to four hundred people tell us things about each other. The misunderstanding persisted. Years later Karan Johar brought us together in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. And it was an absolute pleasure. He’s so cool and sharp. He doesn’t waste time.”
Having worked with all three Khan superstars, Preity says she observes but never imitates. “I imbibe what’s worth it. But I don’t follow anyone blindly. If I work with Aamir it doesn’t mean I’ll start behaving like him. I’m too much my own person. I’ve shared a good rapport with all my co-stars. That’s because I’ve followed a principle—never get emotionally involved with anyone you work with. If that happens your personal and professional life immediately clash. And you’re trapped.”
While professional boundaries are firm, friendships have endured. “Hrithik Roshan and Bobby Deol are friends for life. Bobby has been my buddy from before I came into films. I came to know Hrithik through his former wife. Suzanne and I are best friends. I remember he had come to meet me with a cake on my birthday as the guy Suzanne was seeing. I had found him very thin. I remember he told Suzanne, ‘What kind of a friend do you have? She comes late on her own birthday.’”
At 51, Preity Zinta remains guided by instinct rather than urgency—choosing conviction over volume, and comfort over compromise.
