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Preity Zinta (Hindi: प्रीति ज़िंटा, Urdu: پریتی زینتا , Pronunciation: , formerly Preetam Singh Zinta) born 31 January 1975 is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood movies. She is among the most successful actresses in the industry.

Early life

Born in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, she studied at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School, Shimla. She comes from a Hindu Rajput family of Rohru in Shimla District. At first she was going to do a English honours but decided to pursue psychology . She also attended Bombay University. After getting a degree in criminal psychology at the St. Bedes College, Zinta began her career as a model and commercial (ad films) actress (she was seen in Lyril's soap ad film).

Her father, Durganand Zinta was an officer in the Indian Army. Durganand Zinta died when Preity was thirteen, in a car accident in which her mother, Nilprabha Zinta was also involved. Her mother was bedridden because of this incident. Zinta has two brothers, Deepanker Zinta and Manish Zinta, a year older and a year younger respectively. One of her brothers is a commissioned officer in the Indian Army.

Career

She was meant to make her acting debut with Shekhar Kapur's Tara Rum Pum Pum opposite Hrithik Roshan but the film never took off . Her first movie to be released was supposed to be Soldier but due to delay Dil Se (1998) was released first. The film was her breakthrough role and she won the Filmfare Best Debut Award for her performance. Her following films either flopped or were averagely received.

In 2003, Zinta starred in the year's highest grossing films: The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, Koi... Mil Gaya and Kal Ho Naa Ho . She won many awards for her role as Naina in Kal Ho Naa Ho. Her performance in the film got her the Filmfare Best Actress Award . Since then she has appeared in the averagely received Lakshya (2004) , the box office hit Veer-Zaara (2004) and the semi-hit Salaam Namaste (2005) which turned out to be one of the biggest hit overseas.

She joined a group of top stars (Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Rampal, and Priyanka Chopra) in the Temptation 2004 concert, which was a huge international success.

In May 2006, she along with Karan Johar received an invitation to represent Bollywood at the Cannes Film Festival. They took this opportunity to promote Johar's latest film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna which Preity also stars in. The film which released in August 2006 has done very well at the box office. Her most recent film Jaan-E-Mann did not do as well. .

Zinta has written three columns for BBC South Asia.

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Personal life

She is currently dating Ness Wadia, the heir to the Bombay Dyeing company.

Previously, when she was not shooting she used to return to Shimla. Zinta recently moved into her own home in Mumbai, which she bought in mid-2005.

In 2003, Zinta was a witness in the Bharat Shah case and his links to the Mumbai mafia. She stuck by her statement that she received a threatening phone call from the mafia whilst she was shooting for the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2000) . She was given police protection and was forced to stay out of the public eye for months . Many other celebrities including Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan were witnesses in the case but they soon retracted their statements. Zinta was the only witness not to have turned hostile.

Awards and nominations

Awards won

• 1998: Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female for Soldier
• 1998: Filmfare Best Debut Award for Dil Se
• 1998: Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut for Soldier
• 2001: Sansui Award, Best Actress, Kya Kehna
• 2003: IIFA Best Actress Award for Kal Ho Naa Ho
• 2003: Filmfare Best Actress Award for Kal Ho Naa Ho
• 2003: Zee Cine Award Superstar of the Year- Female
• 2003: Zee Cine Award Queen of Hearts
• 2003: Stardust Star of the Year Award - Female for Kal Ho Naa Ho
• 2003: Asian Guild Best Actress Award for Koi... Mil Gaya
• 2003: Pogo Awards "Most Amazing Actress" for Kal Ho Naa Ho
• 2003: Chhoton Ka Funda Award for Koi... Mil Gaya
• 2003: Sansui Award, Best Actress for Kal Ho Naa Ho
• 2003: MTV Immies, Best Actress for Kal Ho Naa Ho
• 2004: IIFA Style Diva of the Year Award
• 2004: Stardust Star of the Year Award - Female for Veer Zaara
• 2004: BBC Film Café, Best Actress, Veer-Zaara
• 2004: Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Shahrukh Khan for Veer Zaara
• 2005: IIFA Idea Glamorous Star Award
• 2006: MTV Lycra awards, Most Stylish Actor Female

Awards nominated

• 1998: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Dil Se
• 2001: IIFA Best Actress Award for Kya Kehna
• 2001: Filmfare Best Actress Award for Kya Kehna
• 2001: Star Screen Award Best Actress for Kya Kehna
• 2002: IIFA Best Actress Award for Dil Chahta Hai
• 2002: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Chori Chori Chupke Chupke
• 2002: Star Screen Award Best Actress for Dil Hai Tumhaara
• 2003: Filmfare Best Actress Award for Koi... Mil Gaya
• 2003: Filmfare Best Villain Award for Armaan
• 2003: Star Screen Award Best Actress for Kal Ho Naa Ho
• 2003: Star Screen Award Best Villain for Armaan
• 2003: Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Kal Ho Naa Ho
• 2004: IIFA Best Actress Award for Veer Zaara
• 2004: Filmfare Best Actress Award for Veer Zaara
• 2004: Star Screen Award Best Actress for Veer Zaara
• 2004: Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Veer Zaara
• 2005: IIFA Best Actress Award for Salaam Namaste
• 2005: Filmfare Best Actress Award for Salaam Namaste
• 2005: Star Screen Award Best Actress for Salaam Namaste
• 2005: Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Saif Ali Khan for Salaam Namaste
• 2005: Stardust Star of the Year Award - Female for Salaam Namaste
• 2005: Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Salaam Namaste

She has received five nominations for best actress at the Filmfare awards, and has won once. In 2003 she received three nominations, two in the best actress category and one in the best villain category.

Filmography

Films

Television appearances

• Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai (appeared 2002)
• Koffee with Karan (2004-2005) (appeared December 3, 2004 and March 11, 2005 in Episode #1.3 and Episode #1.15)
• Asian Talk On CNN (2005) (interviewed August 4, 2005)
• Kaun Banega Crorepati? (appeared August 19, 2005 in the Raksha Bandhan Special)
• BBC World (interviewed April 23, 2006 on Peschardt's People)

Trivia

• Her trademark is her dimple.
• Critics began to take notice of her after her performance in Kya Kehna.
• She narrowly escaped death twice in late 2004, once after an explosion at a Temptation concert in Colombo, and later in the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

See also

• List of Indian movie actresses

References

External links

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