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A preity good feeling

THIS YEAR Priety Zinta is enjoying her 180 degrees of change. "This year is very different for me. Rituda was just brilliant in casting me in the The Last Lear where I flaunt a Bengali look. I felt quite odd wearing such a big bindi and that completely changed my look.

I wore jhumkas, saree and that's not the usual Priety you know," says she.

Evidently enjoying her new phase of diverse looks, she adds, "And now I want to have a new face. This is my year. I don't have anything to prove to anyone. I want to do things my heart wants to do. So, am going ahead with some radically different roles." It's after three years of shooting abroad, actress Priety Zinta is currently shooting for Har Pal in India and says she loves it here.

Only recently, Priety was reminded of the days of the Bharat Shah case, which happened a few years ago. Calling them 'scary days', Preity says that she just can't forget those days as she was petrified. She went on receive a bravery award for it and was amiably called, 'The only man in Bollywood' as most witnesses had turned hostile.

Since then a 'gutsy' feather has been added in her hat. So, do awards mean much to her? Priety says, "I am a public figure and if that can help a few causes in our country then why not? Also, I was never happy about being called the 'man' in Bollywood. Why is courage always related with a man? Why is gossip and weakness related with women? I love being a woman. Thank you very much. Please applaud me the way I am and not because I am the 'man'." Well said.

But it's not just movies that are upper most on her mind right now. The extrovert actor's heart beats for the many women-related causes she supports in India.

She says, "I want to do something substantial for things close to my heart. India is a young country and education is important. There are lots of young mothers who can be made aware about hygiene, HIV, etc. They could take care of a generation ahead, if they are properly educated. My biggest concern is female infanticide in the north of India. If this practice continues, the future generations are going to be devoid of women. We notice so many sexually-inclined crimes and they are on the rise because men to women proportion has been, over the years, de-stabilised badly."

That this is one subject close to Priety's heart is evident as she carries on, "When I was young, my dad had told me, 'In life, try everything once. But don't get pushed in it.' I realised that when I was young. But in life, we all make different choices. What is unfortunate is that in our country, women do not have choices. They are paraded from the kitchen to the bedroom. Even in Mumbai, perhaps opening of dance bars can bring down the crime rate of women-related crimes," she emphasises.

And even as she speaks, it starts to rain. In a jiffy, Priety's concerned expression changes to one of pure enjoyment. "The place where I stay looks so clean after it rains. One day, when it was raining, I took a longer drive back home from the airport because I was enthralled by the clean roads, and trees looking so much greener. It looked so beautiful."

Bong connection

PREITY ZINTA may be everyone's darling from the mountains of Himachal, but her interests are veering towards everything Bengali. Ever since she worked with Rituparno Ghosh (in The Last Lear), she's become quite 'Bengalised'.

She finds herself in love with the special sweets (roshogollas, mishti dhoi, kheer khodombe), exotic saris, melodious songs and everything else that the City of Joy has to offer. No wonder she grabs any opportunity to visit the place. So when she was invited to take part in the inauguration of this year's festival season, she grabbed the opportunity.

She told us, I've realised that places of worship, due to the immense positive energy and goodness emanated there, have an incredible power of peace and happiness. And the glow shows. The bigger the place of devotion, the more good energy is radiated. And going there, it rubs off.

So I went to Tirupati temple, Siddhivinayak and now the Durga poojas in Kolkata. I plan to keep doing this. Of course, I love Bengali culture so much, it's so rich in the arts and literature. And guess what, I've never had puchkas (the Bong version of pani-puri and golgappas). The fun is in standing on the street and having it in those little matkas true Bengali style.

Now the peace bit we can understand, but the Bong connection? We better warn Rani and Bips that their 'territory' is under threat what with Pretty Preity going Bong Bong these days?