Where it started: Preity Zinta shares Hamida look test before Batwara 1947 release

Actor Preity Zinta shared pictures from her look test as Hamida in Batwara 1947, just ahead of the film's release on August 14. The throwback glimpses offer a peek into the actor's transformation for her much-awaited return to the big screen.

In Short

• Preity Zinta shared her pictures from her look test as Hamida in Batwara 1947
• Preity said the image captured when she first felt Hamida
• Batwara is set to release in theatres on Augsut 14

Just days before Batwara 1947 hits theatres, actor Preity Zinta is taking fans back to the beginning of her journey as Hamida. The actor shared a glimpse from her look test for the upcoming period drama, giving audiences a closer look at the character she will portray in the film.

In the picture shared on Instagram, the 51-year-old actor looks graceful in a simple saree with a traditional border, with the pallu covering her head. Sharing the photo on the eve of the film’s release, Preity revealed that the picture was taken during her look test, the moment she first connected with her character.

“On the eve of the release of Batwara 1947, I wanted to go back to where it all started. This photo was taken at the look test where I saw n felt the first glimpse of Hamida. To me, Hamida is beautifully described by these famous words from Rumi - “If everything around seems dark, look again, you may be the light.” See you all in a theater next to you on the 14th of Aug for Batwara 1947! Ting (sic),” she wrote.

Batwara 1947 marks Preity Zinta’s return to the big screen after an eight-year gap. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and produced by Aamir Khan under Aamir Khan Productions, the film stars Sunny Deol in the lead, with Shabana Azmi, Ali Fazal and Abhimanyu Singh in pivotal roles.

Set in Lahore against the backdrop of the 1947 Partition, the film explores the human stories unfolding amid one of the most turbulent periods in Indian history. With the film arriving in cinemas on August 14, Preity’s throwback look test offers a nostalgic peek at where her journey as Hamida began.

Batwara 1947 is reportedly inspired by Asghar Wajahat’s acclaimed play Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya, O Jamya E Nai, based on a popular Punjabi saying that roughly translates to, “If you haven’t seen Lahore, it is as though you haven’t truly lived.”

The Sunny Deol-starrer is clashing with Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan 2 at the box office. Both films are releasing on August 15.

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