Preity stoked

Q. Were Bollywood movies a part of your life growing up?

A: I went to a boarding school and it was very serious convent — no, we did not see too many films. We probably saw two or three films, which were Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, maybe [the Bollywood film] Mr. India. That’s about it.

Preity Zinta, second from right, and actor Saif Ali Khan, left, perform during a telethon concert in Mumbai, India in 2005. (Sebastian D'Souza/AFP/Getty Images)

Q. In India, Bollywood has such a dominant presence. Are there any specific movies that made an impression on you?

A: I think Sholay is my all-time favourite; I think it’s everyone’s all-time favourite film. There was a film called Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, which is a crazy comedy. [It’s] made by the same director [Kundan Shah] I did Kya Kehna with. It’s a very small, low-budget movie, but hysterical.

And Gandhi, I remember seeing Gandhi. Obviously it isn’t an Indian film, but it was a very important film for me growing up because I actually saw the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi, who is so important, being the father of our nation. When you’re young, history gets really boring. Then, to see a film on a historical figure like that, it takes away that boring part of it, and you actually get fascinated. I mean, I remember seeing that movie and thinking, Wow! So many people did such difficult things to [bring] freedom to this country, and so many people died.

Q. Indian cinema is gradually being recognized outside of India. Do you think Bollywood has universal appeal?

A: The reason behind people really loving our films, not just from India but people from all over the world, is they are about family and love. The plots in our films are not that big. We are not saving the world, we’re not fighting aliens — it’s nothing big. It’s one man trying to win the heart of a woman. It’s somebody trying to hold the family together.

In today’s world where there is so much technology, where everyone has ADD [attention deficit disorder], when life has moved so forward, we have forgotten the simple, basic things of life. Our films show that. And they show a smaller world, a more pure world, a more intimate world. Eventually, that’s what people get attracted to.

India is a more family-oriented society, while in the West it’s a more individual [-based] kind of society. I think they miss it because no man is an island; nobody just wants to live it on their own. Earlier on, many of my friends who were not Indian would find it really funny that we dance and sing. But they love it now. I remember going for the premiere of Veer Zara with [Bollywood superstar] Shah Rukh [Khan] to Paris, and over 10,000 people turned out, and it was chaos. What was really surprising was that it was not just Indians – there were lots of French, lots of Germans, lots of Moroccans, lots of Africans. I couldn’t believe it.

From left, Zinta, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan pose with solar lanterns at a press conference to announce the Unforgettable Tour in Mumbai on July 11. (Gautam Singh/Associated Press)

Q. For a long time, Westerners seemed to enjoy Bollywood for its kitsch factor.

A: We made some of the greatest films in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. And then we reached a stage in the ’80s where our films went a bit over the top. If you look at India, it’s a country which is not completely literate. To them watching those films was like going into a fantasy world. It was an escapist world, so our cinema became escapist.

But then the demographics changed. The audiences changed. Those big theatres changed into smaller multiplexes. The internet opened up, cable television opened up, everything opened up. Now there’s one [audience] which wants the complete time-pass sort of film, where you leave your brains behind. And they have to be really funny for them to work. The other [audience] wants intelligent films. You can’t take them for a ride.

Q. How do you choose your roles?

A: I think most of my roles are chosen by instinct. I listen to a script and say, “Oh this is really something I want to do.” Yes, I have done very different roles. I have played an unwed mother, I have played a prostitute, I played doctors, a spoiled brat, [I’ve been in] a Pakistani film, a period film. But still, after feeling I have been there, done that, I feel 2008 is going to be the best year of my career. I have gone from one zone to another. From doing Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth to doing Jhanu Barua’s Har Pal. So I am really experimenting, and I am really excited. It’s really, really inspiring to do something which is not [inherently] up your sleeve.

Q. On July 16, the Toronto International Film Festival announced its Canadian lineup, which includes Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth. In the film, you play a young Indian woman who emigrates to Canada for an arranged marriage. What was it like working with Deepa?

A: I came to Toronto to shoot a movie called Heaven on Earth, and I think Toronto is heaven on Earth. It was a beautiful experience for me. It was a very intense film. I left all the trappings of [being a] star behind in India [when] I came here. I wanted to learn something new; I wanted to experience something new. [Mehta] was fantastic to work with — what a treat for an actor. It was a very intimate film and I think I have grown so much more as an actor after doing that film.