Back with a Bang

Videsh,directed by Canada-based filmmaker Deepa Mehta,will be released in India on March 27. Zinta plays the unglamourous role of a Punjabi girl who is married off to a taxi driver in Canada. Far from her home and family,she becomes a victim of domestic violence and struggles to stay alive. “I did several retakes for a slapping scene with Vansh in the film. For another scene,I rehearsed with a one-meter-long King Cobra wrapped around my neck in -20 degrees temperature. I even took a 10-day workshop in Toronto to learn Punjabi. I have never done such things in the past,” Zinta recalled. And all that time,fans were wondering if Zinta had switched loyalties from film to cricket!

She was merely waiting for the right films. “The roles that inspired me five years ago don’t do so today,” she says. Videsh was exactly what she had wanted. “A couple of years ago,I felt tied down with typical NRI roles. I wanted to portray an earthy role,of a woman who was closer to reality and had grey shades. Videsh captures real life incidents that many women across the country live with. Also,I have not had many films with such subdued characters,” she reasons. She hastily adds that she’s not a feminist,though she does hold strong opinions about female foeticide and child marriage.

“This year,I have three releases lined up and will be seen more often,” she smiles. How does she balance the demands of her cricket team Kings XI Punjab with a packed acting schedule? “By hanging upside down,” she says with a straight face. “I find bungee jumping de-stressing. I’ve recently returned from a bungee jumping trip to New Zealand where the India-New Zealand ODIs were being played.”

Curated For You

India Women vs Sri Lanka Women 3rd T20I: Shafali Verma’s superb 79* powers India to 3-0 series lead

Archaeologists uncover a 2,200-year-old highway that once connected China’s first empire

Jana Nayagan Audio Launch: Date, Time, Cast, and Other Details – All You Need to Know