Preity Zinta remembers Quaid's daughter Dina as a 'spirited' personality

Indian actress Preity Zinta, who once dated Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah's great grandson Ness Wadia, condoled the loss of her former beau's grandmother Dina Wadia, who died in her New York home on Thursday. She was 98.

In a tweet, Zinta said she was fortunate enough to have met the "elegant and spirited" personality and that she "really admired her".

In an unfortunate turn of events, Zinta and Ness parted ways after dating for four years in 2009. However, throughout the relationship, the Dil Chahta Hai actress spoke highly of Dina.

"The first time I met her, I stared at her open mouthed. My goodness, she carries so much history within her!" Zinta had said in an interview with the Times of India. "Each time I'm struck by her gentle demeanour, her classic elegance, and yes, her fragility," the actress had said.

"I was also struck by her unmistakable facial resemblance to her illustrious father (Jinnah). I've never seen two people who resemble each other so closely," she had added.

A staunchly independent daughter, Wadia who stayed behind in Mumbai during partition and visited Pakistan only twice, encompassed troublesome contradictions that stalked her father, personally and culturally. There was no official comment in India on her death although her son Nusli Wadia is a close friend of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Preity also told Times of India that Dina took an avid interest in Preity's life: "The last time we met, she wanted to know all about the IPL matches. She's so important to our times as a woman and a figure in history and yet conveys so much joie de vivre in her attitude. I just want to sit with her and listen to her."

Wadia is survived by her son and chairman of the Wadia group Nusli N. Wadia, daughter Diana N. Wadia, and grandsons Ness and Jeh Wadia, a spokesperson for the Wadia group of companies said in a statement.