I am a bit of an idiot: Preity Zinta

All sorts of bizarre reasons are being put forward for Preity Zinta's sudden disappearance after the release of Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna (KANK).

"But I'm very much around, in London shooting for Shaad Ali's Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom," Preity voice tinkles across the seven seas in reassuring waves.

"You see I'm a bit of an idiot. I never take that crucial pause after a release to savour its success. I'm told KANK has raised quite a storm in India. Well, good that's what movies should do. I don't understand why some people feel Karan Johar has gone too far.

Arrey! People say, make something different. And when a filmmaker actually takes the plunge into a deeper end, people accuse him of going too far. Personally I feel proud to be in a film that pushes the envelope in mainstream cinema.

I want to hug Karan for making KANK. In fact I'll get my chance to do so in the next twenty-four hours because Karan is coming to London."

Crib about the limited space provided for Preity in KANK and she retorts, "Abhishek and I are like the anchors in the plot. I was never more scared of a role. A little bit this or that way, and my character could've toppled over.

Thank God Rhea doesn't comes across as a bitch. I constantly kept looking at Karan for reassurance. I never had to be directed so closely before. 'I don't want Preity Zinta. I want Rhea Saran,' Karan kept saying…

As for the footage, hey… we don't really live in those times any more when actors measured the length of each other's roles with measuring tapes, do we? Cinema has grown up. So have actors. KANK is proof of it."

All of Bollywood seems to have descended on London. Last month it was the combined units of Priyadarshan's Bhaagam Bhaag and Vipul Shah's Namaste London turning London into a mini-Bollywood. Now it's Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq and Shaad Ali's Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom creating a dhoom in the city.

Preity agrees. "Indeed, you can't step out on the street here without bumping into one or the other of your colleague. I've been shooting with Shaad for two weeks. We call him Fidel on the sets. Why? Because with his beard he looks like the young Fidel Castro. Ha ha.

Abhishek has just arrived. And Bobby (Deol) was here. It was good to catch up with him after so long. We had a great time during Soldier. Bobby remains the same. Quiet and wise."

Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom is Preity's first film with Shaad. "He's so quiet and yet so much in-charge on the sets. I've never had so much fun on location… But then come to think of it, I always make sure I've fun."

Preity has always been part of progressive cinema. Her first film Kya Kehna was about unwed motherhood. Now KANK is about the cult of crumbling matrimony. "Yeah, I like being part of cinema that goes beyond stereotypes. Even my next release Jaan-e-Mann isn't quite the normal film."

How does she intend to stop the bizarre rumours about her so-called disappearance?

"Just because I'm so much out of the country, people feel free to say and write what they like. I wish I was at home so I could see what was going on. But then I'm just a paid slave. No time to savour the fruits of my job," she sighs dramatically.

And then Preity Zinta chuckle.

Source: Santabanta

'Something fishy about Preity eyes'

The bubbly image is long gone. Preity Zinta, once known for dimples is now a big girl, thanks to the films like Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. But the same film has landed her in a fresh trouble.

No doubt she looks fantastic in the film but according to critics she looks too old for her role.

One can notice the flawed area around Preity’s eyes and some gossipmongers allege thats it is the bruise she received after her recent eye-lift. Her buddy Karan Johar was unable to delay the film and hence she had to shoot for her role in the film before she had fully recovered from her eye-lift surgery.

But Preity has learnt to live with such allegations.

In London till late September for the shooting of Shaad Ali’s Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, the dimpled beauty talked to press, about her image, her winning ways, and her attitude. She said she wanted to be remembered as a great performer, rather than as a star.

She says that she was pretty happy to do one film at a time, since acting for her has been a gratifyingly creative experience, and she wanted to keep it that way.

“Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is a film that a four-year-old and a 104-year-old can watch. I have seen it in different pieces and I am very proud of it. It’s a completely entertaining film but you have to watch without leaving your brains behind.”

Preity says that she can’t help it that she has been saddled with the image of a flitting and bubbly character. She said Bubbly is just a part of her. “There is much more to me in my performances and personality on celluloid than that bubbly thing”.

Elaborating on Jaan-e-man, she said: “It is a romantic comedy. It has a beautiful love story, beautiful emotions, it’s very, very funny.”

When asked as to how it felt to work with Salman, she gushed that she was really happy to do so. Talking about her other star in Jaan-e-man, she said, “Akshay and I worked together after a very long time too.

We worked together in Sangharsh. They both are very, very nice guys, very professional and I have a very good relationship with them.”