In the 2000s, Preity Zinta was one of the highest-paid and most successful female stars in Bollywood. The actor chose to step away from the limelight after her marriage and having kids, only doing films sporadically after 2008. Even that stopped after 2018 as she devoted herself to raising her kids. Now, eight years after her last release, Preity is returning to the big screen with Batwara 1947, a Rajkumar Santoshi film. Ahead of the release, the actor spoke to the media on Tuesday about her ‘comeback’ and the time in between.
Preity Zinta's nerves on returning to acting
When HT asked Preity if facing the camera after a long break was like riding a bike, the actor laughed. She admitted that it took her some time to get used to it, and there were a lot of nerves initially. “There were nerves,” she says. The actor says Sunny Deol acted as her compass on the set as director Santoshi decided to ‘torture’ her by giving her a tough scene on her first day back. “He (director Santoshi) tortured me on day one by putting the most difficult scene of the film on the first day. So I was just looking at him (Sunny Deol), and I was shaking ki abhi main kya karoon (what do I do know)? He is a wonderful, big-hearted, kind, decent, good human being to work with because he really was like, ‘Don’t worry, he loves retakes. Kuch khaayegi’ (Will you eat something)?”
Preity admits that her nerves eased after she got through one of the film's most challenging early scenes. “We shot the whole night. We did the look test, and the next day we did one or two readings, and then we were shooting. After that, it kind of felt easier.”
{{/usCountry}}Preity admits that her nerves eased after she got through one of the film's most challenging early scenes. “We shot the whole night. We did the look test, and the next day we did one or two readings, and then we were shooting. After that, it kind of felt easier.”
{{/usCountry}}‘Didn't miss facing the camera’
Preity’s last release was the 2018 film Bhaiaji Superhit, also starring Sunny Deol. It has been a long gap for her, away from Bollywood. But the actor says she didn’t miss facing the camera in the interim. “I didn’t miss it, to be honest. I was enjoying having a family; it was new to me, having kids, focusing on my personal life. And however big my career milestones might be, my greatest milestone was to have children.”
Preity says that being a mother helped her identify with her character in Batwara 1947. In the film, Preity plays a Muslim woman whose husband (Sunny) decides to harbour a Hindu woman hiding in their Lahore home right in the aftermath of the Partition. “That’s why I could identify with this film that even though it’s 2026, my number one priority is family. So imagine, in 1947, how it must have been. It’s a very different worldview from the different lens in those times.”
About Batwara 1947
Apart from Sunny and Preity, the film also stars Shabana Azmi, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal, Abhimanyu Singh, Khushi Hajare, and Kanikka Kapur. The film's music has been composed by AR Rahman, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. It has also been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) without any cuts. Batwara 1947 will release in theatres on August 14.
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