Preity Zinta, who is gearing up for her next release Heroes, has become a sports fan and says she had the time of her life at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Singapore.
“Ness (Wadia) and I had the best evening of our life - all right, one of the best,” Preity gushed. “It was the first ever Grand Prix in the night and, boy, were we happy to be there! But I was exhausted. It went on till the wee hours,” said Preity, who was there for the event last week.
This wasn’t Preity’s first Grand Prix.
“It was my third Grand Prix. I attended one in Spain and the other in Melbourne. Our very special trip to the first nocturnal Grand Prix was arranged by Mr. B.S. Ong - he was one of the chief organisers and one of the big boys in Singapore. He’s like the king and he isn’t even a Sinngh, ha ha.
“We had a rocking time. Regulars at the Grand Prix say it was one of the best organised Grand Prixs of all times.”
Preity says there were lots of people from India.
“There was Rahul Gandhi (politician), Satish Sharma (former central minister), Vijay Mallya (business tycoon), Shilpa Shetty (actress). But Shilpa was in the Kingfisher’s enclave. Ness and I were in Mr. Ong’s box. I did go down to say hello to Vijay and that’s when I met Shilpa.”
Preity loves car racing and would like to try it herself.
“I just wanted to jump on to those tracks and drive those skidding wheels. I can’t tell you what a thrill it is. All you need is ear plugs to make sure your ears don’t burst under pressure of the sounds of those skidding wheels.”
Preity is all praise for the Indian team at the Grand Prix.
“This was our first time. And I think our boys really did well. I think Mr Vijay Mallya has done a commendable job. I remember 10 years ago we used to watch the Grand Prix on television back home and dream about an Indian team on the tracks. We used to joke it would take us a hundred years. But Vijay has made it happen so soon after. Our boys were very dramatic on the tracks.”
Ness had even more fun than Preity.
“You think he’s too proper to let himself go? Well you should’ve seen him at the Grand Prix. He had himself a ball. Ness is a total sports buff. He loves every sport from Formula 1 to tennis soccer to golf. Our next sporting event is in Mohali on Oct 17 when India plays Australia. We’ll be there. I hope India wins.”
For now Preity is in Mumbai to dub Deepa Mehta’s Heaven On Earth in Hindi.
