MUMBAI: Preity Zinta, known for her performances in films like Mission Kashmir and Dil Chahta Hai, will be conferred a doctorate by the University of East London at a function on 29 October. Later in the evening, Zinta will attend the Loomba Foundation Diwali dinner at the Guild Hall where the deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Lord Navnit Dholakia, deputy leader of the Lib Dem at the House of Lords, will also be present.

Zinta has acted in over 30 films in Bollywood as well as in Telugu, Punjabi and English language films

The 35-year-old star made her acting debut with Mani Ratnam‘s Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year. These performances earned her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. She was later recognised for her role as a teenage single mother in Kya Kehna (2000).

The actress received her first Filmfare Best Actress Award in 2003 for her performance in Kal Ho Naa Ho. She went on to play the lead female role films in India Koi Mil Gaya and cross border romance Veer-Zaara, that earned her critical acclaim.

Her first international film role was in the Canadian film Heaven on Earth for which she got the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress at the 2008 Chicago International Film Festival.