Actor Preity Zinta, who turns 48 on January 31, had shared her reasons for moving on from films and taking ownership of a cricket club in the Indian Premier League in a 2012 interview.
She became co-owner of the Punjab Kings XI in 2008.
Preity Zinta, who was originally discovered by director Shekhar Kapur, made her debut in Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se in 1998.
Starring alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala in the drama, the actor got the notice of fans and filmmakers even in a supporting role.
Along with her leading role in Soldier (1998) opposite Bobby Deol, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for both films. Soon, she made her mark as one of the top female actors in the 2000s.
The actor, who turns 48 on January 31, had a number of hits with strong roles in films like Kya Kehna (2000), Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001), Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002) and Armaan (2003). Starring once again with Shah Rukh in Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), she picked up Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance as Naina in the Karan Johar film. Other hits that decade included Koi… Mil Gaya (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Salaam Namaste (2005) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006).
But in the years after that Preity took on less work and appeared in fewer films. She then moved on to focus on her new role, as co-owner of the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Preity also owns the Stellenbosch Kings which is part of the Mzansi Super League in South Africa as well as the Saint Lucia Kings team in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
In a 2012 interview with India Today, the actor spoke about her decision to turn team owner in the IPL. She shared, “When you reach a place of stagnation, you move to another zone. I had worked with the best of filmmakers, producers weren’t giving me earthy or rural roles. And I did not want to be limited to NRI, bubble-gum-babe roles. So I thought, now what?”
She added, “That’s when the idea of a cricket club came to me. At the time, it meant an investment of five million dollars which I thought I could do. Once I bought the team, I went to Harvard Business School. I did everything I could to learn this business and then I got obsessed with IPL!”
She was last seen in the long-delayed action comedy Bhaiaji Superhit (2018) along with Sunny Deol, Arshad Warsi and Ameesha Patel. The actor married businessman Gene Goodenough on February 29, 2016 and now resides primarily in Los Angeles. They welcomed twins, son Jai and daughter Gia, through surrogacy in 2021.
