The angry Preity Zinta

Courtesy: Apunkachoice

Preity Zinta has always been referred to as a 'bubbly' and cheerful actress. But nowadays she is angry.

And the reason is the publication of a text by Mumbai Mid-Day of a telephonic conversation between her and Salman Khan that allegedly had sexual overtones.

Preity on Friday initiated criminal proceedings against the tabloid by filing a defamation case in a magistrate's court for publishing a text of telephonic conversation between her and Salman that allegedly had sexual overtones.

The defamation complaint is based on a transcript of a conversation -- supposedly between Salman and Aishwarya Rai -- in which Salman referred to his relationship with Preity which appeared in Mid-Day's July 15 issue.

The actress' lawyer Nooruddin Dhilla said Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dilip Joshi hasn't yet admitted the application and the matter will be taken up by the court on December 13.

Leaking of tapes of conversations to media, allegedly between Salman and Ash, had made the headlines in July this year. The newspaper and the news channel, which "broke" this story, had claimed that these conversations were taped by Mumbai police.

However, police denied it emphatically saying that the recent forensic laboratory reports showed that tapes were not authentic and that the voices of persons in the tape did not match with those of Ash and Salman.

Preity has moved the court only against Mid-Day, because the other newspapers and channels hadn't aired/printed part of the conversations which referred to her.

Meanwhile, reacting to the defamation suit, Mid-Day executive editor, Lajwanti D'Souza said, "it is something on record (the tapes); we just reproduced it. We feel bad about it, but that is what it was.