Getting slapped was humiliating: Preity Zinta

She's already bagged an award for her power-packed performance as a battered wife in "Heaven On Earth", but Bollywood star Preity Zinta says she was humiliated when co-star Vansh Bhardwaj, who plays her abusive husband, slapped her while shooting a scene.
"When we were shooting the film, there was a scene where my co-star had to slap me and, of course, it was a mistake as he took one step forward and actually went smack across my face.
It was the most humiliating experience of my life because everyone saw me getting slapped, " Preity told in an interview.
Preity got the Silver Hugo Award for best actress in the Feature Film Competition section at the 44th Chicago International Film Festival Oct 29.
The mishap on the sets of director Deepa Mehta's film brought Preity closer to reality and made her understand the character better.
"It changed my whole perception towards my role and I realised that it's so terrible to strip a woman of her spirit. It's better to die than to let your spirit die. This film took me to another zone; it just shattered me because I am someone who would immediately stand up for myself, " she said.
Known for her chirpy, bubbly and garrulous image in Bollywood, Preity would be seen at the receiving end in Mehta's film, which she says "completely broke" her heart.
She explained: "It was the most difficult film of my career.
It's also a film that completely broke my heart. I remember asking a woman, who was a victim of domestic violence and had left her husband, what the turning point in her relationship was and she said, 'I told my husband if you want to beat me, beat me in a room. But don't beat me in front of the family.'
"I could never understand that. Beating someone is bad and it doesn't matter if it's alone or in front of others. It's terrible. I really didn't know what it was to be in a situation like this till I did the film."
Preity has of late been accepting non-commercial projects, including the recently released "The Last Lear" and Jahnu Barua's "Har Pal".
Why the sudden interest in off-beat films?
"I did 'Heaven on Earth' because I thought if a commercial actor like me ventured into something like this, it would provide a broader platform. It was something that really inspired me and I was very excited about. I always played stronger roles so this was a change for me.
"I'm happy that the film will get more eyeballs thanks to the recognition it has got. To me, I'll be ultimately happy if every family will see the film, especially the men, " said Preity.
The actress said that while the movie did not have "the trappings of music and song and dance", it was still very close to her heart "because it tackles immigration; it tackles domestic violence - topics that we like to brush under the carpet".

I have just started dating a new guy: Eesha Koppikhar

*Working with Rajshri Productions is a revelation in itself. Did you ever dream of it that one day you'll work with them?
O nce we enter Bollywood, any actor on his or hers
wish list has a couple of production houses he or she
wants to work with. Rajshri is one of them and I was no different.
I've always wanted to work with Rajshri because of the way they portray human emotions on screen and the way they present their female leads. Rajshri's motto is simple living and high thinking. They are such a wonderful bunch of people to work with.
*What makes Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi different from other Rajshri films?
The genre is more or less the same, what Rajshri uses in all their films. But the film will be a bit different as far as the story is concerned. It's not too much of a family involved this time. It's about a struggle of a woman and how a man stands by her.
I play a typical Rajshri heroine and Sonu Sood plays a typical 'Prem', Rajshri's favourite. Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi is a new look to Rajshri cinema in a way.
*So how was it to work with a face not known by many in Bollywood - Sonu Sood?
There is always a first time for everyone. Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi is Sonu's first big film and even mine. I don't think anybody has presented me in the way Rajshri has. This is one of my best films in my career I've done, including Shabri, which is yet to be released.
*What was so challenging after you mentioned that you've never been presented like this before?
I've never got an opportunity to showcase my talent in a way I've done in this film. I've never really got a script of this kind and the length too.
You will never see the emotions portrayed by me in this film somewhere else in my earlier films. To bring out the emotions and serious acting is the biggest challenge an actor goes through and if you are successful in that, you've won the battle.
*Which Rajshri films inspired you the most?
Maine Pyaar Kiya. I was very small when I saw the film but I remember falling in love with Salman Khan after seeing the film. Even Hum Aapke Hai Kaun inspired me and somewhere down the line I wanted to be a part of that film. Now I have no regrets.
*But you weren't directed by Sooraj Barjatya…
I have no complaints as long I am working for the banner Barjatya. I can tell you something about working with the debutant Kaushikda. He looks frail and fragile, thin and short man but he has got a tremendous command over what he wants to bring out of his actors.
He is so thorough in whatever he was doing. I didn't go for any singing lessons because Kaushikda's vision is so good that I did whatever he told me to do. I was very convinced. The first day he started narrating the script to me, I started crying.
*Rajshri is synonymous with its music too. Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi doesn't sound blockbuster kind. What say?
Well, I could be a little biased here because it's my film. I think there is a lot of variety in this film. I play a folk singer; there is a Qawali, classical and ghazal.
Then there are situational songs which move the film forward and backward six to seven years. There are songs with only two para's to add to the scene. At the end of it, you feel that there should've been more than 12 songs. It's Rajshri music after all.
*What about the other roles which you've portrayed in your previous films? Aren't they special?
They are special but I do not identify with the 'khallas' kind of roles I've played in the past. In fact, I've done about twelve films in the South before I played a 'khallas' girl. All my South fans were pretty surprised and told me that they couldn't imagine me playing such a role.
They couldn't see me so glamourised. I've always played a girl-next-door type of roles there. I am more comfortable playing the latter than the bold and glamourous types. The three films I've enjoyed doing the most are Kya Kool Hain Hum, Shabri and Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi.
The other film I'm really looking forward after this one is Hello Darling where I play a Haryanvi girl who comes to Mumbai for a job.
*Do you think now-a-days, Rajshri going audiences have patience to watch a long film?
Well, this film is two hours and ten minutes long. But you're right. Today, the audiences have lost patience. They are more restless but at the same time the script matters. Kaushikda is famous on small screen after directing serials like 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' and 'Sanjeevani'. That's how he started. So he is very fast and not used to stretching it too much.