As she sails into her 32nd birthday Tuesday, Preity Zinta is no longer just a cute, bubbly actress but has established herself as a mature performer on screen and a no-nonsense person behind the scenes.

She has lived up to the expectations of fans by delivering one hit each year and bagged many awards. Be it Nikhil Advani's "Kal Ho Naa Ho" or Yash Chopra's "Veer-Zaara" or Siddharth Anand's "Salaam Namaste", she has certainly evolved.

Preity has proved she is not only beautiful but bold too.

She twice provided evidence of her guts - first when she appeared in court to testify against the Dubai-based mafia threatening stars to pay protection money for their safety. She was honoured with the Red And White Bravery award in 2003 for it.

And the second time she was up in arms over a story published in a Mumbai newspaper based on the text of a telephonic conversation - in which Salman Khan apparently referred to his relationship with Preity. The news infuriated her and she filed a defamation suit against the newspaper.

The actress has sometimes been accused of being rude and not fitting into Bollywood's conventional heroine image but that as never slowed her down.

Despite being an outsider she didn't have to struggle to reach the top - it looked as though success was waiting for her after she zoomed in with "Dil Se" in 1998 with Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala as co-stars.

Critics found her natural and spontaneous and filmdom threw open its doors for her without delay. Within a very short span of time she charmed all and sundry. She climbed up the ladder of success with alacrity and right now is sitting at the top and enjoying her success.

Movie moghuls like Yash Chopra and Karan Johar are proud to work with Preity.

In 2006, she will be seen in Karan Johar's "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna", Shirish Kunder's "Janeman", and in a guest appearance in Rakesh Roshan's "Krrish", the sequel to "Koi Mil Gaya" in which she essayed the female lead opposite Hrithik Roshan.

Her personal life is also going in the right direction. Apparently she is dating industrialist Ness Wadia and the buzz is they will tie the knot soon.

Kudos to her for managing her career and her life so well.