| Preity Zinta |
Sunday tete-a-tete
Shah Rukh has Kajol, I have Rani
Preity Zinta talks about her equation with her co-stars and the 'M' word
Ram Kamal Mukherjee
Rumour has it that you will be getting married to your boyfriend Ness Wadia at the end of this year. Is it true?
Get me those people who are spreading these rumours, I want to whack them. (Laughs) There are so many actresses, why don't people talk about them? I don't know why they are after me and my marriage.
Do you think you'll make a good housewife?
What do you mean? Of course I will. I invest 100 per cent in anything I do, and I excel in it. Today, I think I am a very good actor because I have made the effort, and it's going to be the same with other aspects of my life.
Do you believe in traditional ceremonies like karva chauth?
My mother used to observe karva chauth for my dad. I too observed it once when I was just nine years old. My mother tried to stop me from fasting, but I was very excited about the fact that you can eat something sweet at 5:30 in the morning and then you don't eat or drink for the rest of the day. Well, I fainted at 7:30 in the evening. After that, I told myself, 'never again!'
How committed are you in your relationship with Ness Wadia?
That's too personal a question. I know that if I answer this question, it will make headlines… Jokes apart, I am not sixteen. I am too old to be frivolous; to make mistakes and then learn from them. I have already gone through all those phases in my life. I am mature now, and there is a deep and stable side to me; whatever I do, I look before I leap.
So do you see yourself married?
I think marriage is the most beautiful institution in the world. Unfortunately a lot of people have started regarding it as a matter of convenience. But to me, marriage is forever… I want it to be the way it is with my parents. It's a secure and wonderful feeling for kids to grow up in a marriage like that. I have seen students who have come from broken marriages, in boarding schools, and I could sense that they missed the togetherness and security of a happy family life. That's why I believe that I am the product of the relationship between my parents. And I want that kind of security in my family, my marriage and in my children too.
How open are you about your personal life?
I am actually honest, but I think certain sections of the media have taken my honesty to a different level altogether. They make me feel like I shouldn't be so honest and make such candid comments about my personal life. Maybe I should just repeat clichd lines like 'No Comments', and 'We are just friends'! When I openly admit that I am dating so-and-so, the media predicts a wedding date. I think people are taking too many liberties with me, and it has started upsetting me. I have always been graceful about my personal life, and I think I deserve to be treated better by the media. I am bored of talking about the same old thing (my relationship with Ness). I have eight years of my career to talk about. Just because I am dating him, it should not become the focal point of all my interviews. All I want to say that I am very happy with the person I am today… and the person I am with.
The promos of your forthcoming film, Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, bear an uncanny resemblance with Nikhil Advani's Kal Ho Na Ho. Not similar storylines too, we hope.
Well, both the films have been shot in London. But as far as treatment, subject and script are concerned, the films are as different as chalk and cheese.
Were you rattled by Rani Mukherji's presence in Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna?
No, not at all. I think it's always good to work with a better actor because that sets the bar higher – you do better work, you are better prepared and always on your toes. I think eventually the film becomes better too. When you are cast with bad actors the bar drops. You may be good, but low standards make you worse. Rani is probably going to make me look good in the film and I'm sure I will have the same effect on her performance. Rani and I have, through the years, made many films together, and they've all been blockbusters. So I tease her saying 'Let people say what they want to about us, we make a good pair'. The way Shah Rukh has Kajol, I have Rani. (Smiles) I enjoy working with her.
What do you think about your other co-stars – Shah Rukh and Abhishek?
Shah Rukh has been around for long and Abhishek is new. Abhishek is a typical Aquarian like me, and Shah Rukh is a typical Scorpion – he is much more intense. Abhishek talks more than I do, and that disappoints me. Jokes apart, Abhishek is someone who backslaps you and has fun with you. He is wild, little crazy. He is also a tremendous performer. In Koffee with Karan I called Abhishek sweet, and Saif asked me how I could call him that. So I don't call him sweet anymore. But I share a different equation with Shah Rukh who was already a big star when I entered this industry. Shah Rukh has achieved too much and it's unfair to compare the two.
You may just create a new record of working with debutant directors. It's Farah Khan's husband, Shirish Kunder, in Jaaneman this time. How was the experience of shooting with him?
He is a man of few words. But he has sound knowledge about what he is doing. I am happy to be working with him in his first film. I am sure he'll make many films in the future, but that first film is always special. He is very particular about his scenes, like I am. I used to chew his brain with innumerable questions before giving a shot. But we never had a difference of opinion. Jaaneman will surprise a lot of people. It's always better to work with a debutant director. They want to do everything in that first film; they want the moon, the sun and the stars …
You'll be working with your first screen hero, Bobby Deol, after so many years, in Shaad Ali's Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Are you looking forward to it?
I am very excited to be finally working with Bobby after Soldier. He is a fantastic actor and a very good friend. It's strange that although Dharamji and Amitji have made so many hit films together, Abhishek and Bobby have yet to make their first collaborative film. I am sure that Jhoom Barabar Jhoom will help continue the tradition of the Deols and Bachchans.
• Abhishek is a typical Aquarian like me, and Shah Rukh is a typical Scorpion – he is much more intense
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