Preity Zinta

Biography

Preity G. Zinta is a Filmfare Award-winning Indian actress, producer, entrepreneur, and cricket team co-owner celebrated as one of the most vivacious, beloved, and commercially dominant leading ladies in the golden era of modern Bollywood. Holding degrees in English honours and criminal psychology, Zinta burst onto the screen with her famous dimpled smile and refreshing candor in Mani Ratnam's romantic thriller Dil Se.. (1998 opposite Shah Rukh Khan) and Kundan Shah's Soldier (1998), winning the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She earned widespread critical praise for portraying an unwed teenage mother in Kya Kehna (2000), breaking traditional Bollywood taboos with progressive courage. Zinta reigned at the pinnacle of Hindi cinema throughout the 2000s, starring in historic blockbusters: Farhan Akhtar's seminal youth drama Dil Chahta Hai (2001 as Shalini opposite Aamir Khan), Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001), Nikhil Advani's romantic classic Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003 as Naina Catherine Kapur, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actress), Rakesh Roshan's sci-fi blockbuster Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), and Yash Chopra's epic cross-border romance Veer-Zaara (2004 as Zaara Haayat Khan opposite Shah Rukh Khan). She delivered nuanced dramatic performances in Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) and Deepa Mehta's Canadian drama Heaven on Earth (2008, winning the Silver Hugo for Best Actress at the Chicago International Film Festival). As co-owner of the Punjab Kings IPL cricket franchise and an outspoken champion of women's safety, Preity Zinta is an enduring icon of Indian entertainment.