Renowned Bollywood actress Preity Zinta is adding to her resume of blockbusters by enrolling in an executive course at Harvard Business School next month to study negotiating and deal-making, the Indian media reported this week.
Zinta, who already spends a significant amount of time in the United States, told the Indian media she decided to hit the books to enhance her experience in the country.
“I thought that since I spend so much time in the US, I might as well use the experience better,” Zinta said in an interview with Indian Express.
Zinta, who is recognizable by her right dimple, has starred in popular Hindi movies such as “Kal Ho Naa Ho,” “Veer-Zaara” and “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.” She debuted in Bollywood over 10 years ago and currently appears on “Behind the Seams”—a reality television show that follows the lives of cricketers on the Kings XI Punjab team, of which Zinta is a part owner.
In previous interviews, Zinta has not explained her interest in coursework, and a spokesman at the Business School declined to comment further on her status as a student, citing privacy concerns.
Richard S. Delacy, a Harvard preceptor in Urdu-Hindi, said that Zinta has shown an appetite for tackling challenges in her acting career.
“She’s known to be one of the most intelligent actors in India,” Delacy said, describing Zinta as an “A-list star” comparable to Julia Roberts or Renee Zellweger. “She seems to be more of a thinking person based on the roles she’s taken.”
Bijoy M. Misra, outreach coordinator of the department of Sanskrit and Indian studies, said he was pleased to hear that Zinta will be studying at the Business School. It may benefit film stars to develop business skills and to involve themselves in a more intellectual environment, he said.
Students in the South Asian community at Harvard also expressed their excitement for Zinta’s arrival.
“Her attendance really shows how relevant a business education can be in various industries and in a global context,” wrote Monica Sharma, co-president of the Business School’s South-Asian Business Association, in an e-mailed statement.
Preity Zinta is leaving Bollywood for Harvard
Sunday, November 8th, 2009Preity Zinta is leaving Bollywood for B-school. “Yes, I’m going to the Harvard Business School to study a short executive course in negotiating and deal-making,” she says. “I thought that since I spend so much time in the US, I might as well use the experience better. I applied to Harvard and got accepted, so I’m quite kicked about going there next month.”
So does this keen interest in business mean we won’t be seeing her much on the big screen? “Not at all,” she says, “I want to make sure that I can balance acting and business. In fact, I’m currently buried under a pile of scripts and am reading each one to make sure that I don’t miss out on anything good. I want to do a role that I’ve never done before.”
She’s also busy with the television show Behind the Seams which she is hosting and producing. But Zinta admits that she hasn’t watched television for the past two months. “TV soaps have these close-ups of people in dark black kohl and it really scares me,” she says. “Reality shows are also staged, so there’s nothing real in them. So what’s there to watch?” Behind the Seams too is a kind of reality show as it takes you through the journey of the Kings XI Punjab team. “It’s a reality show but there’s no acting involved. It’s about cricketers and you really can’t expect cricketers to start acting,” she laughs.
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