Filmworld
IPL doesn't need me anymore: Preity Zinta
By
By Natalia NingthoujamMumbai, April 15
She prides herself in doing
one film at a time and surviving in the Bollywood arena, but Preity
Zinta's subsequent involvement in Twenty20 cricket tournament Indian
Premier League (IPL) in 2008 affected her movie presence. Now, the
dimpled beauty with brains is ready to be back with a bang in filmdom.
A
co-owner of IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab, Preity, who is coming to the
small screen as a judge on dance-based reality show "Nach Baliye", says
she wanted to keep her focus on cricket back in 2008.
"I wanted
to focus on cricket that time. Acting is not something that you can just
do. When you go and start performing, you put yourself in a safety
deposit box and you become somebody else. A lot of me was required in
cricket because I was starting a new business.
"I went through
the whole process on my own and I didn't think it was possible for me to
do all that and become somebody else. Something was going to suffer and
after all these years in the industry, I didn't want to end up doing
films where either production suffered or I as an actor suffered. I was
quite happy to take on cricket and do that. I wanted growth," Preity
told IANS in an interview here.
Now that it's been been eight years of IPL, she feels "IPL doesn't need me anymore".
"Now I just have to come and watch the game. The business is doing well, the
team
is doing well. Things have fallen into place. Now doing this ('Nach
Baliye') or movie sounds exciting to me because I've been away from them
for sometime. I've come back with a fresh perspective and I'm in a
different space. I never thought that I would
be so excited about judging a dance reality show," she said.
A
producer, writer, entrepreneur and a dance lover, Preity, who considers
herself "in good space right now", promises to feature in more movies
this year.
The 40-year-old, who was last seen in a full-fledged
role in the 2013 dud "Ishkq in Paris", is now busy filming her upcoming
film "Bhaiyyaji Superhitt" and "Nach Baliye 7", which she is co-judging
with author Chetan Bhagat and choreographer Marzi Pestonji.
"This
show is going to be a treat," Preity told IANS here while promoting the
celebrity dance show, which will be aired on Star Plus starting April
26.
Talking about her filmography, the "Sangharsh" star, who made
her Bollywood debut with "Dil Se.." in 1998, says she is happy about
having done selective work.
"I was the only actress from my
generation or any generation who came and did one film at a time and
survived," said the actress, who has featured in over 30 films,
including cameos.
She promises more than just films to her fans this year.
"You'll
see me in more movies this year for sure. 'Bhaiyyaji Superhitt' film is
what I'm doing which I'm going to complete. There's also some new work
coming. I'm also starting a new business venture. You'll hear about it
by end of this year. It's a big deal for me. I'm in good space right now
where I want to do all this," said Preity.
What about movie production?
"My
first movie ('Ishkq in Paris') that I did... I'm very proud of the
movie. It's okay to do one or a couple of things wrong. It was a great
learning experience. Hopefully, I'll come back with bigger and better
things... which I will but not immediately right now.
"Without
sounding arrogant, I've had 80 to 90 percent success rate compared to
things that have not worked out for me so, I don't even think I should
be in a position to complain.
"God has been kind to me. I should
be appreciative of what I have instead of complaining about what I don't
because I definitely got more than I ever dreamt of," said the former
model.
(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at [email protected])