Preity Zinta spoke for 15 minutes, didn’t let Abbas-Mustan utter a single word: ‘We knew she was perfect for Soldier’

Preity Zinta, who starred in Soldier opposite Bobby Doel, during the first meet with directors Abbas-Mustan, spoke for 15 minutes, not given them a chance to speak.

Preity Zinta in stills from Soldier

Preity Zinta may have been away from the silver screen, but she continues to be the national crush on social media, especially after her recent photographs in salwar kameez from the IPL were widely shared on social media. The actor, who was loved for her work in films like Dil Se, Sangharsh, Kya Kehna and Salaam Namaste, among many others, is also admired for her off-screen “bubbly” and outgoing persona. Abbas Burmawalla and Mustan Burmawalla, who cast her in Soldier, recalling their first meeting with the actor, said that she didn’t let them speak.

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The duo was the first to cast her in their film opposite Bobby Deol. “Producer Ramesh Taurani arranged for a meeting with Preity who was initially supposed to make her film debut with Ta Ra Rum Pum, helmed by Shekhar Kapoor. However, the film’s shoot hadn’t begun,” Abbas told Radio Nasha Official, in a recent interview.

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Mustan recalled meeting the Veer Zara actor at Taurani’s office who asked them if they liked her. “Us zamaane mein auditions hote nahin the (Back in the day, there were no auditions). She sat in front of us, spoke for 15 minutes straight and left. In those 15 minutes, she blabbered a lot and didn’t give us a chance to utter a single word. We instantly liked her and thought that she was perfect for the role. She was chirpy and natural,” added Mustan.

The duo revealed that Taurani signed her for a three-film deal which included Soldier, Kya Kehna and another project. While Preity made her debut with Mani Ratnam’s 1998 film, Dil Se…, she played the lead actor in Soldier which also released in the same year. In a recent interaction with fans on X (formerly Twitter), Preity expressed her desire to work in Sangharash 2.

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