Preity Zinta says she didn't miss Bollywood. Here's what brought her back

Actor Preity Zinta opened up about returning to Bollywood after eight years with Vibe. She said motherhood reshaped her priorities as she also reflected on changing film audiences and piracy.

In Short

• Preity Zinta spoke about returning to cinema after eight years
• Zinta said parenting twins Gia and Jai requires work
• She described her life in the US as slower and steadier

Actor Preity Zinta is back in Bollywood after eight years. Interestingly, for the actor, the time away from films was not really about missing cinema; it was about discovering a life outside it. Having started working at 18 and spent years moving from one film set to another, Zinta took what she described as the first big pause of her life when she became a mother and settled into a slower life in the US. Her return, therefore, was not driven by desperation to get back on screen, but happened when the right roles came along.

In an exclusive chat with India Today, the actor said, "I don’t want to lie and say I missed films. You know, I started working when I was very young, when I was just 18, and I worked non-stop for the longest time. So this is the first time I took a big pause in my life. I was enjoying having a family, children, and being a mother. You have to be more involved."

Her time away from films had also changed what she considered important. In the US, she described life as slower, and motherhood as her most significant role. When asked whether her children know about their mother's stardom, Zinta smiled and said, "They are just four. Life is also much slower, but I have my best role to play -- as a mother. It’s a lot of work, patience, which I am still working on.”

The twins, Gia and Jai, are four now, but the 51-year-old actor has been careful about introducing them to the world of stardom. “They’re four years old. And I would like them to keep growing up [without being put under the spotlight]. I wouldn’t want them to be, you know, I would like them to have a regular life as much as they can,” she said.

The actor’s return to cinema has come with two films in quick succession. After Batwara 1947, Zinta is back with Kunal Kemmu’s Vibe, where she steps into comedy and action like never before. Talking about why she said yes to the film, the dimpled actor said, "I think it’s always instinctive. I always wanted to do action. And I am grateful to Kunal for even conceiving a role like this, and thinking about me. I don’t think it was all roses because even for me, working in this kind of setup, as much as I was very excited to do it, it was something so different to me that I was understanding Madam H each day as it came.”

In the years since her last release, the Hindi film industry has changed significantly, with star power no longer being the major attraction. With streaming altering viewing habits, theatrical releases are a far more uncertain proposition today. Her comeback film Batwara 1947, too, did not quite deliver the box-office impact that many had expected. But for Zinta, the fundamental rule of the business remains unchanged: a good script will always find an audience. What has changed is everything around it.

“While a lot has changed, one thing that has remained intact since the 50s is that a good script will always work. Now there’s a lot of competition in terms of online viewing, so that has changed patterns for sure. Life has become tougher, so people are waiting and not watching a lot of films in theatres. Piracy has also become a bigger menace. It happened with the last film also. Within the next day of its release, it was all over the internet," she said while talking about the failure of Batwara.

She added, "It’s important for people to support films in theatres so that we can go back to making films. Today it’s very difficult to make a film. You have longer hours. There’s so much more stress. Everybody wants to cut costs because people are not going that much to the theatres. So that way, this film was very refreshing. Considering how life has become so difficult, it’s easier to sit through a fun film. Just come watch our film, and it will dispel all your problems."

Written and directed by Kunal Kemmu, Vibe is set to release on September 18. It also stars Sparsh Srivastava and debutant Vanshika Dhir.

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