Preity Zinta is back. With Up Close & Personal with PZ (pronounced zee) on UTV Stars. So, t2 gets up close and personal with the dimpled beauty.

What would the show be like?

My guests are all my friends. I want to show the layers each of them have as personalities. For example, I’m described as bubbly, but I can be sad too in situations. When they come to my show they know there will not be any scandal or gossip.

But isn’t it the scoop that sells chat shows?

I beg to differ. Good content is what viewers want to see. Most of the time these scoopy things shown on TV are rubbish…. Mujhe gussa aa jata hai jab reporters start asking uncouth questions. Someone is getting married and they ask him or her, bachchey kab paida ho rahe hain… koi saath saath dikha, toh poochhenge shaadi kab kar rahe hain.… Yeh toh badtameezi hua, na?

Most of your guests are your friends from the industry. Are there things you got to know about them that you did not know earlier?

Well, I did not know Shah Rukh used to be the bandar for Ramlila. I swear I didn’t know that. I have known him for 12 years and he is one of my dearest friends. I didn’t know that Farhan (Akhtar) was working as assistant to Manmohan Singh. Not our prime minister, but the cameraman! I didn’t know that Akshay was assistant photographer to Jayesh Sheth. I told him ab toh meri portfolio bana de! All of them have gone through a period of struggle. To become a star you need to go through the grind, fall in a corner, get written off by critics and then you need to rise from the ashes. That’s when you actually become a superstar.

What would we see your guests doing?

You know, to be an actor in India is probably one of the most difficult jobs in the world. It’s not like in the West where work comes to you six months in advance with a bound script. We’re so spontaneous that there is a chalta hai attitude in our industry. Actors here have to be genuinely talented to deliver. It’s easy to buy a ticket and… it’s terrible when you don’t buy a ticket and still criticise (laughs). People actually don’t have any idea what kind of talent is required to perform without preparation on the spot. We have a sequence where I give them a situation and ask them to act it out, like it happens on the sets: “Ok, do it right now…” You have to see how nicely, how beautifully they have turned out. I have made them do some brand endorsements. We try to show the wholesomeness of their personality — quirky, mad and fun. When a big hero’s eyes get moist, I realise: ‘Ok, so that’s where the emotions in his sad scenes come from!’.

If you can recount one such sequence…

Well, Akki spoke about his father on the show. It was personal for me too, when his father passed away I had gone to see him. He was absolutely distraught.

How different is it shooting for TV and films?

Both are equally tough. In a film, you do a maximum of six to seven shots a day, whereas on TV you just go zip. There isn’t much time to rest. That way TV is more tiring. They don’t cut too much. The Akshay show went on for two-and-a-half hours without a cut. Par mehnat filmon mein bhi karna padta hain.

And how different has a chat show been from your first innings on TV?

For The Guinness World Records — Ab India Todega, I was interacting with people I did not know. Seeing this girl who could pull 800kg really made me feel proud to be an Indian. But in Up Close & Personal, I am in my comfort zone. These are my friends who have held my hand when I was down. It was like sitting and chatting in a drawing room with no one else around.

Karan Johar, Simi Garewal… Preity Zinta. How different will your chat show be?

I’m not competing with anyone here. Everyone says I talk too much. On my own show, I would be talking less. The show is my way of saying thank you to each of my company-stars. When I came to this industry I knew no one. They are the ones who have nurtured me. I have tried to show a side of the stars which I have seen but people haven’t. There might be this big macho guy who does big movies but he is scared of a little cockroach. I know that because I have seen him run out in fear of a flying cockroach! The idea is to show their humane side.

Have you taken tips from Karan Johar?

KJo is busy shooting for Student of The Year as we speak. He doesn’t have time for me (smiles); he has time only for his newcomers!

Who’re the stars coming on the show?

We have got Akshay, Saif, Shah Rukh, Farhan, Salman…

Given that both are your friends, will you try to mend fences between Shah Rukh and Salman?

Koi mujhe iss question se bachao… (laughs out loud). This really is beyond me or anybody. I think only time will tell.

Will there be female co-stars too on the show? How tough will it be when it comes to the Kareenas?

Well, Kareena is dating a dear friend now, so she is a friend. We have not finished shooting yet, so let’s see.

How much are you charging for the show?

I’m charging for every word I speak. Ha ha! That’s two words.

How is your Indo-French production turning out?

It’s called Ishkq in Paris. Yes, with a ‘k’. We are finalising the script. It’s not easy coming back to films after a two-year gap. But I’m hopeful. There is a level of expectation that is associated with my name — at least I’d like to believe it has — and I’d like to do justice to that.

How was your IPL experience? You were very hands-on with the team…

That’s my personality. When you are an actress you’re your own factory. You can’t send an assistant to give a shot. It was a big financial commitment on my part. So I dropped everything, moved to Punjab, tried to learn about the game. It was a start-up and I tried to do everything I could for it. One day I realised that these three years of my life I gave to cricket but now I need to get back to my life. There’s only so much I could do for the team but I couldn’t play myself. Here I’m in the driver’s seat. I had lost inspiration for movies three years back. Now I feel re-inspired after the break.

Salman Khan the guest on Up Close & Personal with PZ

What made you lose inspiration for movies?

I have always been one to follow my heart. I was studying criminal psychology when I flipped a coin and got into movies. All I was concerned about then was ‘Can I get my lines right?’ Then a point came when I’d wake up and think, ‘Yes, I have to go for shooting today’. When I stopped feeling that, cricket came my way and one morning I woke up and thought, ‘I don’t mind going to Punjab. It’s exciting.’ For me moving away was fine. Success and failure are a part of life. And just as you claim your successes you should claim your failures too. It is ok to go away when you have to. You can come back when you’re ready for it again.

What was the turning point this time?

Oh, when I stood on my weighing scale and all my excitement went out for a toss! I had been thoosoing myself with so much of kulchas and parathas. When you are doing a film you look at your costume and think: ‘Oooh, I need to fit into this! (grimaces)’. But then I had no costume, only my Kings XI T-shirt and jeans. Then suddenly I went to the gym one day thinking I need to start working for my movie. But my gym instructor said: ‘Babe, you have put on nine kilos according to the chart I had two years ago’. I seriously could not believe it is possible to put on so much weight!

How are you balancing your professional and personal life?

I have only my profession; I have no personal life (with a mock grimace). I have stopped talking to any boy because I’m scared that whoever I speak to, you will link my name with his. My poor Brett Lee — bechara, he worked in my team for three years — ONE time I was talking to him at a dinner, there was this story that I went out with him through the back door. That was absolutely not true. There was no back door. Even the dinner was not with him, but some other friend. He happened to come over and say hello. Now I’m not going to say, ‘No, don’t sit here because you’re not in my team anymore.’ Toh woh baith gaya bechara. Itni stories usske bare mein ayee ke now I have stopped talking to men. Unless they’re from the media!

DISARMINGLY PZ

I’m all for criticism when it is constructive. If someone is being bitchy, call me. I’m one big PhD in fighting.

(To a TV cameraman tilting the camera towards her bare legs) “Arey, why are you shooting my feet? Are you crazy? (Flashes a dimpled smile the next moment at the accompanying reporter) Main oopar se ameer hoon, neeche se garib (pointing to her little black dress revealing shapely legs)