B’Day Special: When Preity Zinta Had a Dangerous Face-Off With Underworld Mafia

Actress Preity Zinta has charmed her way into the hearts of many with films like Kal Ho Naa Ho, Veer Zaara, Koi Mil Gaya and Dil Chahta Hai. Currently, the tinsel town diva is the owner of the Kings XI Punjab IPL team. The diva celebrates her birthday on January 31. As Preity turns 48, let’s take a look at some unknown facts about her life.

Besides stupefying fans with her impressive acting prowess, Preity is also a trained Kathak dancer. This justifies her graceful moves in various Bollywood songs, including Tera Rang Balle Balle from the film Soldier, and Bhumro Bhumro from Mission Kashmir.

Preity once had an encounter with the underworld while shooting for the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke. The entire funding of the 2001 film was provided by the famous and feared gangster Chhota Shakeel. Producer Nazim Rizvi, accompanied by financier Bharat Shah, reportedly made the deal with the gangster. According to Instant Bollywood, during the ongoing shoot, Preity received threat calls from the mafia, demanding a hefty sum of Rs 50 lakhs.

Preity decided not to back out and testify against Choota Shakeel in court. “It was a scary time in my life. I should have been protected. Whatever I said in court was on TV ten minutes later,” she spoke back then, as reported by Instant Bollywood. Priety also shared that the gangsters constantly harassed and abused her, forcing the actress to appeal to the court.

“I was fine till they were scaring me, but once they started abusing me, I lost it. I can take stress, but not people abusing me. I learned that if you get a call from +92, don’t pick up!” she said, adding, “Luckily I was famous. Had I not been, it would’ve been tough,” elaborated the Salaam Namaste actress.

Preity, who holds a criminal psychology post-graduate degree, met her now-husband Gene Goodenough in Los Angeles’ Santa Monica. After dating for five long years, they finally decided to tie the nuptial knot on February 29, 2016. She welcomed twins — a girl, Gia, and a boy Jai through surrogacy in November 2021. Preity has been away from acting and the limelight for a long time now.

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