Preity Zinta

Preity Zinta - Bollywood Actress :: Cutie with Dimple  

Preity Zinta is a cute 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.

  

Preity Zinta - Bollywood Actress

Preity Zinta Aliases (Nicknames & Misspelled names): Preetam Singh, Preity, Bubbly girl, Dimple, Zinta, Prity Zinta, Preety Zinta

~:: Table of Contents ::~

Personal Information :: Biography :: Awards :: Nominations :: Contact Information :: Filmography :: Photo Gallery :: Wallpapers :: Relationships :: Trivia :: Controversies & Scandals :: Zinta in the News :: Philanthropy :: Honours & Recognitions

Preity Zinta Profile & Family:

Birth Name                 Preity Zinta

Date of Birth               January 31st 1975

Sex                            Female

Height                        5' 5"

Nationality                 Indian

Birth Place                 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

Star Sign                   Aquarius

Languages                 Hindi, English

Occupation               Bollywood Actress, Model, Television anchor

Education

Convent of Jesus and Mary School in Shimla, India

Graduated in criminal psychology from St Bedes College, Bombay University, India

Debut Film

Dil Se' in 1998, directed by Mani Rathnam

Father

Durganand Zinta(Was an officer in the Indian Army, died in a tragic accident in 1987)

Mother

Nilprabha Zinta(homemaker, met with a tragic accident in 1997 & broke many bones in the accident, including her spine, is bedridden for two years)

Brothers

Deepanker (One year elder to Preity, he is a commissioned officer in the Indian Army)

Manish Zinta(One year younger to Preity, settled in Los Angeles)

Favourite Actresses

Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman, Sridevi

Favourite actors

Guru Dutt, Sanjay Dutt, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Al Pacino

Other interests

Preity is a fitness freak

Preity writes columns for BBC

Preity Zinta Address:

C/10A, Ranwar, Waroda Rd.,

Bandra (w), Mumbai - 50

India

Preity Zinta Life & Relationships:

Marc Robinson : Marc is one of the hottest models from India. Marc mentioned in one of the interviews that the reason for break-up is Preity is too busy in her work.

Lars : Danish lad, a fashion designer

Ness Wadia: Ness Wadia is the Joint Managing Director of Bombay Dyeing Industries. Preity is dating him since February 2005. In 2007, there was an alleged crisis in Preity's relationship with Wadia, due to Krishnamuthy's controversy and the supposedly cold vibes between Zinta and Wadia's mother Maureen. Maureen Wadia reacted to the rumours in an interview. She ended up with the rumours, saying: "I'm delighted at my son's choice". And they are still partners.

Preity Zinta Biodata:

Preity Zinta family Background and Childhood:

Preity Zinta was born on January 31st 1974 in a Rajput family. Her dad Durganand Zinta was an officer in the Indian Army and her mom Nilprabha was a homemaker. The actress has two brothers Deepanker and Manish Zinta. Preity started schooling in Convent of Jesus and Mary School in Shimla, India. Preity was thirteen when her parents met with a tragic accident. Preity lost her Dad while her mom was bedridden. After completing her schooling, Preity pursued criminal psychology at St Bedes College. Preity, who came to Mumbai to pursue her acting career, took modeling as her first step into the glamour world.

Preity Zinta becoming superstar:

She hit jackpot wit ‘Liril Soap’ commercial and next she bagged the famous ‘Perk Chocolate’ assignment. Preity auditioned for a couple of big projects and signed three big movies Shekhar Kapoor’s ‘Tara rum Pum Pum’, Mani Ratnam’s ‘Dil Se’ and Abbas Mastan’s ‘Soldier’. Preity, who made an impressive debut, has managed to work with all big banners like Karan Johar, Yash Chopra and Rakesh Roshan. Preity has delivered blockbusters like ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’, Koi Mil Gaya’ and ‘Salaam Namaste’.

Preity Zinta also; had a close brush with death during the tsunami of 2005. The actress was so distressed after the incident that she withdrew herself for eight months. Preity recovered from the trauma and has bounced back with full zest. The actress has been linked with many co-stars but she is in a serious relationship with Ness Wadia the Joint Managing Director of Bombay Dyeing Industries. Preity is also endorsing some big brands like Pepsi, Head and Shoulders Shampoo, Cadbury Perk, Hyundai Santro, Maggi Noodles and TVS Scooty.

Preity Zinta Career Graph:

Preity the Bubly Girl:

Zinta began her career as a model in the mid 90s, and was seen in several commercials and other advertisements. She hit jackpot wit ‘Liril Soap’ commercial and next she bagged the famous ‘Perk Chocolate’ assignment.

Preity Zinta into Bollywood:

She met Shekhar Kapur when she accompanied her friend to an audition and was requested to be auditioned too. Coincidentally, after Kapur saw her audition he insisted on her to become an actress. Zinta was meant to make her acting debut with Kapur's Tara Rum Pum Pum opposite Hrithik Roshan but the film never took off. Later, Kapur recommended her for Mani Ratnam's Dil Se.

Technically her first film was Kundan Shah's Kya Kehna but it got delayed till 2000. The delay of another film Soldier meant that she made her acting debut with Dil Se (1998).[6] The film was her breakthrough role and she won the Filmfare Best Debut Award for her performance, which was only twenty minutes long. This was followed by the hit Soldier and the acclaimed Sangharsh, which did not do well at the box office, but gained her recognition as an actress. Zinta also starred in two Telugu films, Premante Idera (1998) and Raja Kumarudu (1999)

Early Days in Film Career:

Her first release in 2000 was the hit Kya Kehna. Critics began to take notice of her after her performance in this film. Her role as a teenage single mother was well acclaimed and she received various nominations in the Best Actress category.

She was known for enacting diverse roles. Roles like the mentioned CBI officer in Sangharsh, the teenage single mother in Kya Kehna and the prostitute in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke were different from typical roles played by actresses at that point of time, and won her critical acclaim.

Later, she was part of various successful films like Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Mission Kashmir (2000) which was the third highest grossing film of the year, and Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai (2001) which entered into the top five highest grossing films of the year.

In 2002, she was the main protagonist in Kundan Shah's Dil Hai Tumhaara. The film marked an important milestone in her career. Although the film did not do well at the box office, her role as an adopted daughter was much appreciated and her performance was well acclaimed. Consequently, she became sought-after by some of the biggest filmmakers in the following years.

Preity Zinta Success story in Bollywood:

The year 2003 proved to be a very good one for Zinta, as she was the female lead in three of the year's highest grossing films: The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, Koi... Mil Gaya and Kal Ho Naa Ho. While The Hero is considered to be the most expensive Hindi film ever made, Koi... Mil Gaya was the biggest hit of the year, and Kal Ho Naa Ho was a wide international success. Her role as an insecure and angry Indian-American girl in the latter was much appreciated and she won many awards for her performance, including the Filmfare Best Actress Award.

In 2004 she played the role of a TV journalist in Farhan Akhtar's moderately successful film Lakshya. The movie was the fourth highest grossing film of the year , and Zinta's performance, which was modeled after renowned TV journalist Barkha Dutt won her favorable reviews. Later, Yash Chopra signed her for the role of Zaara in the love legend Veer-Zaara, which was the biggest hit of the year. Veer-Zaara was her second highest grossing film in a row, and marked her entry into Yash Raj Films, which is considered to be one of the biggest production houses in Bollywood. All these achievements promoted her as one of the biggest stars in the industry.

She had two releases in 2005: Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen and Salaam Namaste. The former was a delayed project since 2002, and received poor reviews at the box office, whilst the latter did fairly well in India and was the year's biggest hit overseas. She received various nominations for Best Actress at different award ceremonies for her performance in Salaam Namaste, where she played the role of a single modern young woman who leaves India to live her own life in Australia.

Zinta was welcomed with similar success the following year in 2006. Her first release, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna released in August. The film became one of the biggest box office hits in India, and turned out to be the biggest Bollywood hit in the overseas market ever. She played a stylish and modern fashion magazine editor in the film, which was also well received. Her second release, Jaan-E-Mann performed poorly at the box office.

In 2007, Zinta was offered the lead role in the foreign film Marigold, but turned it down. Zinta's first release of 2007 was Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, which did not do well in India. The film did better overseas, especially in the U.K. She received mixed reviews for her performance in the film. Zinta also turned her career professionally, as she started to work more with art film directors, rather than mainly working on commercial cinema. She completed her first English film, Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear, opposite Amitabh Bachchan. She is also set to star in Jahnu Barua's forthcoming film Har Pall.

Preity Zinta Honours & Recognitions:

In May 2006 Zinta and Karan Johar received an invitation to represent Bollywood at the Cannes Film Festival. They took this opportunity to promote Johar's film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.

She attended the festival the following year in 2007 one more time.

In 2007, She co-hosted the 52nd Filmfare Awards ceremony, along with Shahrukh Khan, Karan Johar and Juhi Chawla.

Zinta was chosen as the first brand ambassador for GoAir, a new Airway service. The airline owner, Jeh Wadia from Wadia Group, is Ness Wadia's younger brother and there were some speculative issues whether she is doing it for her boyfriend rather than for her own interest. Zinta denied all the rumours, saying that Ness has no relation to this participation in the air liner's publicity: "I did it because I truly think it's a fantastic airline with really low fares" said Zinta.

In 2007 she was the guest of honour in an art event called Spandan 2. The event took place in the famous Mumbai art gallery Articulate

Zinta has the most success among all the Bollywood actresses, having the highest success ratio of 65%.

Zinta's trademark has been her dimple and she is often cited by popular media by this characteristic.

In 2003, Zinta was placed first on the Rediff's Top Bollywood Female Stars. In the following years, she was placed at number 2 three years in a row (2004-2006).

Zinta was also ranked number two on the Filmfare "Top Actresses" list (2003-2004) and number three later on (2005-2006).

In 2007, Zinta was on the Rediff list of 'Bollywood's Most Beautiful Actresses'. She was featured in the list of Rediff's Bollywood's Best Dressed Women.

She was also featured in the list of Rediff's 'Woman of Many Faces'.

Listed #41 by UK magazine Eastern Eye one of "Asia's Sexiest Women" (Sept/ 2006).

Zinta was also the first Indian actress on the cover of the first issue of Marie Claire magazine to be sold in India.

Zinta has made three appearances on the talk show Koffee with Karan, hosted by Karan Johar. Her first appearance was in 2004 with Saif Ali Khan, and the second appearance was in March 2005, along with Abhishek Bachchan. The episode with the latter was the highest viewed episode of season one. She made her third appearance in season two of the show with Bobby Deol.

She was also a guest judge in Indian Idol 2.

In 2006, she also modeled and walked the ramp for Manish Malhotra's fashion display Fashion Week 2006, titled Freedom, along with actress Kajol

Preity Zinta Stage Shows:

Zinta is also known as a stage performer, frequently taking part in big stage shows and world tours.

Zinta's first world tour was an international concert called Craze 2001 along with Anil Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Gracy Singh taking place across the USA. Some of the shows were cancelled due to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The shows continued in Canada and went on to do well.

Likewise, Zinta took part in the world tour From India With Love in the UK, along with Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. The show was displayed at Manchester’s Old Trafford Football Stadium and London’s Hyde Park being widely watched by over 100,000 people.

Zinta's biggest world tour was undoubtly in 2004. She joined a group of top stars (Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Rampal, and Priyanka Chopra) in the Temptation 2004 concert. The show went on to be the biggest international success for Bollywood concerts.

In 2006, Zinta toured again, participating and performing in the successful Heat 2006 concert around the world, along with Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley.

Preity Zinta Humanitarion Works:

In 2005, along with other Bollywood stars, Preity performed at the HELP! Telethon Concert to help raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

In July 2006, Zinta participated in a blood donation camp organised by the Rotary Club of Delhi in association with Godfrey Philips Bravery Awards and donated blood. She supported the promote of this humanitarian cause, saying:

" Donating blood doesn't kill one but goes on to save somebody's life. Blood donation also creates a universal world. 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. "

Zinta also lend her support to the cause of women empowerment for Godfrey Philips.

Zinta donated her winnings, from her 2007 appearance on Kaun Banega Crorepati to the Shimla District Red Cross Society in Himachel Pradesh, along with Rani Mukerji. She donated Rs 25 lakhs to the society in support of its welfare activities

Preity Zinta Controversies and Scandals:

Preity Zinta and Bharat Shah Case:

In 2003, Zinta was a witness in the Bharat Shah case and his links to the Indian Underworld. Bharat Shah was the financer for the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2000), in which Zinta also starred, and he was arrested for having connections with the underworld in 2000. Zinta stuck by her statement that she received threatening phone calls from the mafia while shooting the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke. 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.

Zinta's courage to be the only film personality not to turn hostile was much appreciated by the nation. Consequently, she went to be the special recipient of the Bravery Award given to her for her "Courageous Act" to stand against the Mumbai Underworld. 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. "

Preity Zinta & Ness Wadia in Construction worker case:

In 2006, Zinta's boyfriend Ness Wadia was reported to have beaten up some construction workers at her building residence in Bandra. The rumours also reported that a woman was critically injured and a child was hurt. Zinta reacted angrily at hearing these rumours, and had repeatedly shouted at the media about the incident, claiming it wasn't true: "You have said that at 12 O'clock there has been a fight. Tell me, which place in India do you have workers working in a building at 12 O'clock at night? You all put any kind of news in print in circulation and then the onus falls on us to clarify. On what basis are you putting a news item?" Shouted Zinta at waiting newsmen agitatedly.

Zinta lectured the press on how they should conduct themselves: "Please do your homework before you report anything to the nation. You cannot target me and my boyfriend just because I am a film star. If you want to talk about me, then say I'm the most beautiful woman and I have the most amazing films. Why are you bringing in my boyfriend and me and creating this mess?" She even challenged the press and offered RS 1 crore to whoever could find an injured woman. The press came up with no findings, and this rumour was considered to be false.

Preity Zinta Alleged Affair with Shekhar Kapur:

Actress and Singer Suchitra Krishnamurthy has blamed Preity Zinta for her divorce with Shekhar Kapur, alleging that Preity was having an affair with her husband. According to reports, it wasn't the first time that Krishnamurthy has accused Zinta in this issue. Previously, she had written the same in a personal blog. However, initially Zinta kept a dignified silence and refused to talk about the issue, waiting it to disappear for itself.

Krishnamurthy also stated, that after the first time she accused her in the blog, and the blog was published in a newspaper, Zinta used to call her every day and try to explain to her that she was not responsible for anything, and had nothing with her husband.

When Krishnamurthy accused Zinta for the second time in an interview, Zinta was travelling and got to know that only when her business manager Tanuja Mehra informed her about it. Zinta denied all the accusations saying,

" 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 "

She has also demanded Kapur to step into the picture and clear her name from this controversy. Zinta said on the accusations: "I really don't understand why is the media going crazy about something that does not even exist". She stated that she had met Kapur only five times in 10 years. In regard to Krishnamurthy, Zinta said, "Everyone who is a nobody wants to be somebody at the expense of famous people like me." Since then, apparently this controversy has come to an end.

Preity Zinta Movies:

Year

Film

Role

Director

Language

1998

Dil Se

Preeti Nair

Mani Ratnam

Hindi

Soldier

Preeti Singh

Abbas Mustan

Hindi

Premante Idera

Jaanu

Jayant Paranji

Telugu

1999

Raja Kumarudu

Rani

K. Raghavendra Rao

Telugu

Sangharsh

CBI Officer Reet Oberoi

Tanuja Chandra

Hindi

Dillagi

Rani

Sunny Deol

Hindi

2000

Kya Kehna

Priya Baxi

Kundan Shah

Hindi

Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega

Jahnvi

Raj Kanwar

Hindi

Mission Kashmir

Sufiya Parvez

Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Hindi

2001

Farz

Kajal Singh

Raj Kanwar

Hindi

Chori Chori Chupke Chupke

Madhubala (Madhu)

Abbas Mustan

Hindi

Dil Chahta Hai

Shalini

Farhan Akhtar

Hindi

Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke

Sakshi

Deepak Shivdasani

Hindi

2002

Dil Hai Tumhaara

Shalu

Kundan Shah

Hindi

2003

The Hero: Love Story of a Spy

Reshma/Ruksar

Anil Sharma

Hindi

Armaan

Sonia Kapoor

Honey Irani

Hindi

Koi... Mil Gaya

Nisha

Rakesh Roshan

Hindi

Kal Ho Naa Ho

Naina Catherine Kapur

Nikhil Advani

Hindi

2004

Lakshya

Romila Dutta

Farhan Akhtar

Hindi

Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa

Dr. Parineeta (Pari)

Atul Agnihotri

Hindi

Veer-Zaara

Zaara Hayat Khan

Yash Chopra

Hindi

2005

Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen

Priti

Harmesh Malhotra

Hindi

Salaam Namaste

Ambar 'Amby' Malhotra

Siddharth Anand

Hindi

2006

Alag

Ashu Trikha

Hindi

Krrish

Nisha

Rakesh Roshan

Hindi

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Rhea Saran

Karan Johar

Hindi

Jaan-E-Mann

Piya Goyal

Shirish Kunder

Hindi

2007

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom

Alvira Khan

Shaad Ali

Hindi

The Last Lear

Shabnam

Rituparno Ghosh

English

Om Shanti Om

Farah Khan

Hindi

Mera Bharat Mahaan

Samir Karnik

Hindi

Har Pall

Jahnu Barua

Hindi

Suryamukhi

Suryamukhi

Shaji Karun

Hindi

Preity Zinta Awards Won:

Year

Award Description

1999

Filmfare Best Debut Award for Dil Se & Soldier

Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female for Soldier

Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut for Soldier

Bollywood Movie Award - Best Female Debut for Soldier

2000

Bravery Award for her "Courageous act" to stand against the Mumbai Underworld.

2001

Sansui Award, Best Actress for Kya Kehna

2002

Walt Disney Children's Awards, Best Actress for Dil Chahta Hai

2003

Zee Cine Award Queen of Hearts

2004

Filmfare Best Actress Award for Kal Ho Naa Ho

IIFA Best Actress Award for Kal Ho Naa Ho

Zee Cine Award Superstar of the Year- Female for Kal Ho Naa Ho

Star's Sabsey Favourite Heroine, Best Actress for Kal Ho Naa Ho

Stardust Star of the Year Award - Female for Kal Ho Naa Ho

Sansui Award, Best Actress for Kal Ho Naa Ho

Pogo Awards "Most Amazing Actress" for Kal Ho Naa Ho

MTV Immies, Best Actress for Kal Ho Naa Ho

Chhoton Ka Funda Award, Best Actress for Koi... Mil Gaya

Asian Guild Best Actress Award for Koi... Mil Gaya

Ficci awards, Best Actress Award for Kal Ho Naa Ho

2005

Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Shahrukh Khan for Veer Zaara

IIFA Style Diva of the Year Award

Stardust Star of the Year Award - Female for Veer Zaara

MTV Lycra Awards, Most Stylish Actor Female For Veer Zaara

BBC Film Café, Best Actress, Veer-Zaara

2006

IIFA Idea IIFA Glamorous Star Award

MTV Lycra awards, Most Stylish Actor Female For Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Sports World "Jodi of the Year" along with Saif Ali Khan for Salaam Namaste

2007

Radio Sargam Bollywood Awards, Best supporting Actress For Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

AIFA Awards Best Supporting Actress, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Planet Bollywood People's Choice, Best Supporting Actress, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Preity Zinta Awards Nominated:

Year

Award Description

1999

Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Dil Se

2001

Filmfare Best Actress Award for Kya Kehna

Star Screen Award Best Actress for Kya Kehna

IIFA Best Actress Award for Kya Kehna

2002

Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Chori Chori Chupke Chupke

IIFA Best Actress Award for Dil Chahta Hai

2003

Star Screen Award Best Actress for Dil Hai Tumhaara

Bollywood Movie Award - Best Actress for Dil Hai Tumhara

2004

Filmfare Best Actress Award for Koi... Mil Gaya

Filmfare Best Villain Award for Armaan

Star Screen Award Best Actress for Kal Ho Naa Ho

Star Screen Award Best Villain for Armaan

Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Kal Ho Naa Ho

Stardust Star of the Year Award - Female for Salaam Namaste

Bollywood Movie Award - Best Actress for Kal Ho Naa Ho

2005

Filmfare Best Actress Award for Veer Zaara

Star Screen Award Best Actress for Veer Zaara

IIFA Best Actress Award for Veer Zaara

Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Veer Zaara

Bollywood Movie Award - Best Actress for Veer Zaara

2006

Filmfare Best Actress Award for Salaam Namaste

Star Screen Award Best Actress for Salaam Namaste

Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Saif Ali Khan for Salaam Namaste

IIFA Best Actress Award for Salaam Namaste

Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Salaam Namaste

GIFA Best Supporting Actress, for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

BBC Film Café, Best Actress, Salaam Namaste

2007

Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Zee Cine Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Female for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Stardust Best Supporting Actress Award for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

BBC Film Café, Best Actress, KANK

Preity Zinta Trivia:

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

Zinta narrowly escaped death twice in late 2004, once after an explosion at a Temptation concert in Colombo, and later in the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

She is the first actress who was nominated both for the best actress and best villain trophies in a single year at the Filmfare in 2004

Preity Zinta Sponsors & Endorsements:

Pepsi

Head and Shoulders Shampoo

Cadbury Perk

Hyundai Santro

Maggi Noodles

TVS Scooty

Rexona deo brand ambassador

Liril Soap

Perk Chocolate

Brand Ambassador for GoAir, marketing campaign for Airlines ‘GoAir’

Lays

Godrej & Boyce, for their premium EON brand