page_title: Preity Zinta
section_title: Media image and artistry
hierarchical_section_title: Preity Zinta / Media image and artistry
caption_attribution_description: English: Preity Zinta at Ishkq In Paris-Isabelle Adjani event
context_page_description: Preity G Zinta is an Indian film actress and entrepreneur. After graduating with degrees in English honours and criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se.. in 1998, followed by a role in Soldier in the same year. These performances earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, and she was later recognised for her role as a teenage single mother in Kya Kehna. She subsequently established a career as a leading actress of Hindi cinema with a variety of character types. Some of her roles, deemed culturally defiant, along with her unconventional screen persona have been credited with contributing to a change in the concept of a Hindi film heroine, and won her several accolades.
  Following critically appreciated roles in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Dil Chahta Hai, Dil Hai Tumhaara, and Armaan, Zinta received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in the drama Kal Ho Naa Ho. She went on to play leading roles in two consecutive annual top-grossing films in India, the science fiction film Koi... Mil Gaya and the romantic drama Veer-Zaara.
context_section_description: Zinta is particularly known in the Indian media for her straightforward nature and for honestly expressing her forthright opinions in public, be it about her on-screen or off-screen life or raising a voice against social injustice. While she does not believe she is "as tough as people portray [her] to be," she asserts having no qualms about speaking her mind, even if faced with surmounting opposition, as long as she stands "by what's right." These features were noted during the Bharat Shah Case, when she testified against the underworld; following this incident she was often called by journalists "The only man in Bollywood", a label she was unhappy with for its underlying anti-feminist connotations. Film actor Amitabh Bachchan, describing her as "frank and painfully honest," lauded her "drive and guts in a world that can be most cruel to a single girl." Author and columnist Shobhaa De, while commending her for lodging a molestation complaint against Ness Wadia in 2014, expressed concern regarding Zinta's repeated quest for justice, believing it could eventually play against her: "India is not terribly kind to strong-willed, outspoken women who are dubbed 'trouble makers' if they dare to raise their voices, especially against men. Zinta is such a woman."
  Her characteristic dimple has been cited by the media as her trademark. At the beginning of her career, she was often described by the press as having a vivacious personality and a bubbly, outgoing persona, an image she had confessed to disliking. According to film critic Sukanya Verma, Zinta's energetic nature extends from her real life into her appearances in films and is an integral part of her technique. In an article discussing Hindi film actresses and their flair for comedy, Verma wrote, "What can you say about an actress who giggles non-stop in a tone that is anything but prim and propah? She is carefree. She is animated. She talks non-stop. She laughs all the time. She has a chilled out sense of humour. And a tomboyish streak too. Preity Zinta is all that and more. All this greatly contributes to her style of acting."
  Director Tanuja Chandra ascribed Zinta's screen appeal to her lack of acting pretense, commenting, "She doesn't act, she's so real that you just can't look away from her". Reviewing Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001) for Hindustan Times, Vinayak Chakravorty noted that "there is an admirable zest that Preity pumps into every role she does". Farhan Akhtar, who directed her in two movies, believes she is an actress who "can mould herself—the way she speaks, works and her body language—and adapt herself to roles," while Vidhu Vinod Chopra (director of the 2000 film Mission Kashmir) credits her with the ability to "make the viewer believe even in the most convoluted situation." In a review of Salaam Namaste, Australian film critic Jake Wilson observed, "While Preity Zinta isn't the subtlest actress, she's quite a comedienne – for a Hollywood equivalent to her combination of beauty, high-strung emotion and facial gymnastics you might have to go back to Natalie Wood." American critic Derek Elley considers her to be "one of Bollywood's best pure actresses."
  Following her portrayal of such characters as those in Sangharsh (1999), Kya Kehna (2000), Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Salaam Namaste (2005) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), Zinta gained a reputation for playing roles that go against Indian traditional mores and was often recognised for her versatility. Critics attributed her roles in these films as to establishing a new image for leading actresses in Bollywood. Karan Johar cites her as "a new-wave actress" who has the advantage of working at a time when "films portray a woman who knows her mind". Author Monika Mehta noted the similarity between Zinta's public image as an independent and opinionated woman and her culturally defiant character in Salaam Namaste. In the book Once Upon a Time in Bollywood, it is stated that Zinta "resists patriarchal constraints through her modern lifestyle and the controversial roles she chooses."
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caption: Zinta in 2012
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