Preity off to Phuket to bring in New Year

She's taking a well-earned vacation. After playing, the derelict NRI wife in Deepa Mehra's Heaven On Earth Preity is off to Phuket with her friends to bring in new year. Last year at this time, Preity injured herself during a vacation.

"2007 has been a tough year for me. Not only did I suffer a serious injury it has also been a year of tough challenges for me as an actor. In 2007 I went into another kind of cinema altogether. From doing Yash Raj Films to playing a woman who finds herself at the receiving end of life in Heaven On Earth has been quite a creative and cultural shock for me," groans Preity.

Preity is however quick to point out the film is not only about a battered wife. "It's about all the people who leave India and hope to find paradise abroad, only to be stuck on wretched 16-hour jobs with no happiness or sunshine. I never knew how such marginalized women existed until I played one. Deepa Mehta and Heaven On Earth have proved eye-openers for me. But the film was tough on me emotionally. In the month that I was in Toronto, I went out just twice and that too only to maintain my sanity. I really need a break now."

Preity returns from her vacation in the second week of January with a clear date diary. "I haven't said yes to any of the scripts I've heard. I'll take a call when I return from my holiday. However, since 2007, has been my year of unconventional films. I hope 2008 will probably be a year of hardcore ‘masala’ movies."

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