Preity against pap culture

Actress reveals it is a huge culture shock during her comeback stint

For the twins

Preity Zinta gave a glimpse of her journey from across the globe as she made it in time for her twins Jai and Gia's “First Day of School”. She took to X and wrote: “Rushed across the globe to make it for ‘First Day of School’ Wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world!”

Zinta, who settled in the US after her marriage in 2016, was back in Mumbai to promote her upcoming spy comedy Vibe with Kunal Kemmu. In the film, which arrives in theatres just weeks after the release of her Partition drama Batwara 1947 with Sunny Deol, features Zinta in the quirky role of Madam H, a spy who recruits and trains two bumbling friends for a high-stakes secret mission. Asked what was the biggest cultural shock when she made her comeback to movies, she said acting now involves dealing with things beyond the movie set.

“The biggest cultural shock for me is not to do with the movies itself, it’s around the movies. Like, the paparazzi, the invasiveness of social media. Earlier, we just had to act when we go on set and finish. Here, how you dress is important, your airport look is important. If you’re sad, you’ve to be fashionably sad or if you’re happy, you have to be fashionably happy.”

“If there’s anything that’s happening in the country, you need to be informed, you need to comment, you need to say the right thing... So, it’s a lot more pressure. The job is not limited to just the set, it's the optics around the set and then you're supposed to look amazing,” Zinta told PTI in an interview.

“A good script where the action fits in would be great. Today, from army to other places, women are involved. It’s just how you put it across, and that’s the filmmaker's job. If it is supported by enough reasoning and a good script, I'm sure it will work.” Asked about the box office failure of Batwara 1947 despite good reviews, Zinta explained, “I believe in effort, you work hard and do your best and then leave it to the world. Same with Vibe, we worked very hard on it, and I hope people will like it.” The actor, however, said audiences should support good movies in theatres. Vibe will be out in cinemas on September 18. Kemmu also stars in the movie.