During the 2000s, Preity Zinta ranked among Bollywood’s highest-paid and most sought-after leading ladies. She gradually pulled back from the spotlight following her marriage and motherhood, appearing in films only occasionally after 2008 and eventually stopping altogether post-2018 to focus on raising her children. Eight years after her last on-screen appearance, she is now set to make a comeback with Rajkumar Santoshi’s ‘Batwara 1947’. Ahead of its release, the actor addressed her return and the years away from cinema while speaking to the media on Tuesday.Preity Zinta on nerves and Sunny Deol’s support on day oneWhen Hindustan Times asked Preity whether stepping back in front of the camera after such a long gap felt like riding a bike, she responded with a laugh. She confessed it took her a while to settle in, admitting there were nerves at the start. She said Sunny Deol became her anchor on set, especially after director Santoshi chose to ‘torture’ her with a difficult scene right on day one. “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 Zinta on how her nerves settled on setThe actress shared that her jitters faded once she got past one of the film’s most demanding 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.”Preity Zinta says she never missed the cameraHer most recent film before this was 2018’s Bhaiaji Superhit, also with Sunny Deol, marking a long absence from the big screen. Despite the gap, she insists she never longed to be back in front of the camera. “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 Zinta connects motherhood to her role in ‘Batwara 1947’She revealed that motherhood gave her a deeper connection to her character in Batwara 1947, where she plays a Muslim woman whose husband (Sunny) chooses to shelter a Hindu woman hiding in their Lahore home amid the chaos following 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.“Preity Zinta’s ‘Batwara 1947’: Cast, music and release dateAlongside Sunny and Preity, the cast also includes Shabana Azmi, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal, Abhimanyu Singh, Khushi Hajare, and Kanikka Kapur. AR Rahman has composed the film’s music, with Javed Akhtar penning the lyrics, and it has received a clean pass from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with no cuts required. The film is slated to hit theatres on August 14.
