Freida - Because I am a Girl

Freida Pinto who is the brand ambassador for the 'Because I am a Girl' campaign visits Africa

Freida Pinto who has become a brand ambassador of an international development charity for its 'Because I am a Girl' campaign visited Sierra Leone in Africa recently

The actress's trip was to ascertain how their work is making a difference to girls and their communities.

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Trishna a very beautiful yet tragic tale: Freida Pinto

Freida Pinto, who became an overnight celebrity after the multiple-Oscar winning "Slumdog Millionaire", views her new film "Trishna" as a "very beautiful and yet tragic" tale of a village girl torn between her traditional upbringing and the dreams of a girl from modern India.

Based on Thomas Hardy's classic "Tess of the d'Urbervilles", British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom's newest film is set in rural Rajasthan. It has Pinto playing the title role of Trishna, an auto-rickshaw driver's daughter who falls for a rich boy. 

"I guess the journey is very beautiful and at the same time very tragic, " she says, "because it goes from being really innocent to being in a situation of almost desperation and finally to redemption."

"It's quite an intense journey for one girl to go through, " Pinto told over phone from New York, where she arrived for the red carpet premiere of the film at the IFC Centre in Manhattan earlier this week.

She felt Trishna was a tough role to play "because it's so different from what I am in real life, " said Pinto, who has a very outspoken personality and "just can't kind of lay back and just get bombarded with things that I don't believe in." 

"So I guess that was really hard for me, especially because we didn't really have a solid script, " she said. "So every time, I would try to say something or speak out against something, Michael would just say, 'No, you don't say anything in this situation. Just observe'."

"Now as an actor who is very outspoken, it was very tough and again such a welcome challenge, " said Pinto, who "would love to be something like that again." 

To prepare for her role, she spent some time in Rajasthan's Osian village in a family setting and interviewed a number of girls who worked at hotels and one who worked as ground staff in an airline.

"It was very interesting that all the stories were different from the other, but the bottom line came down to 'whatever dad thinks is probably right and we'll just follow that or whatever our future husband thinks is right is going to be our life from then on, '" she said. 
"And that for me was the startling reality that I had to just come to terms with to understand my character better, " Pinto said. 

Pinto, who came to limelight with her very first film, Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire", considers both Boyle and Winterbottom as "absolutely amazing filmmakers, " with definitely different working styles.

For one thing they are "very completely different films", Pinto said. " 'Slumdog' is a love story that has a beautiful message of hope at the end of it. And the other one is a tragic love story which can be very sad."

Secondly, while she had a detailed script for "Slumdog Millionaire", "as far as 'Trishna' went, all the experience I had gathered was going to be put to the test with Michael because we did not have a solid script and I had to really let go if I had any kind of inhibitions."

Pinto thinks her co-star Anurag Kashyap, who has made a mark for himself in Indian cinema as a brilliant director, is a "really good" actor too. "I think, yeah, if he gives acting a shot, he will be pretty good." 

She hopes some day she'll get a chance to work with Kashyap "because he is such an eclectic filmmaker, who is not afraid to take challenges upon himself and is so brave".

Asked if she feared being typed as an 'exotic Indian beauty' by Hollywood, Pinto said: "I am not afraid of that any more because I have made sure people don't look at me like that."

And does Bollywood have anything to offer her? "Well, when people use the term 'Bollywood', I hope they are including Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee and all these wonderful filmmakers as well because definitely I would love to work with them, " said Pinto, adding: "Why not?" 

Although she lives in Los Angeles these days for convenience's sake, Mumbai will always be number one for Pinto because "it has made me the person I am today - very outspoken". 

"Oh, my god, there is no comparison. Mumbai is Mumbai."

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Freida Pinto takes New York by storm

Indian actor Freida Pinto took New York City by storm with a glamorous red carpet premiere of her new film "Trishna" which released Friday at the IFC Centre and Lincoln Plaza in New York and The Landmark in Los Angeles.

Other guests attending the July 10 premiere at the IFC Centre in downtown Manhattan included actress Meg Ryan, music mogul Russell Simmons, actor Billy Connolly, and fashion designers Calvin Klein and Rachel Roy. The after party was held on the rooftop of the Jimmy at the James Hotel in Soho.

The popular actress was invited to appear on the hit talk show Late Night With Jimmy Fallon where she spoke about the meaning of her name, what she did for the 4th of July holiday, and what her dad thinks about her films.

Pinto also visited the top morning news programme The Today Show for a live interview with Matt Lauer and his team.

Directed by Michael Winterbottom and co-starring Riz Ahmed, the Rajasthan-set drama which won acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival will release July 20 in additional US cities including San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, San Diego, and Washington DC.

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Freida Pinto to romance Christian Bale

Indian actress Freida Pinto will be seen romancing Batman star Christian Bale in director Terrence Malick's next - "Kinght of Cups".

The film is a beautiful tale of a man is in search of love and truth, shooting has just started and Bale and Pinto were seen shooting beautiful romantic sequences at the Santa Monica Beach, said a statement.

Also starring Natalie Portman and Cate Blanchett, "Knight of Cups" is set to hit the screens internationally next year.

Post "Slumdog Millionaire", Freida has starred in several international projects. "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger", "Miral" and "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" are some of them.

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Freida Pinto in Dhoom 3 with Aamir Khan?

While the grapevine is buzzing with gossip if Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra or Katrina Kaif will land the role opposite Aamir Khan in Aditya Chopra's Dhoom:3, we have heard another gossip, which if it comes true, will certainly see a new sensational pairing.

Industry is abuzz with rumours that Adi is looking to approach Freida Pinto for the film. It will be interesting to see if Freida, who has still not been seduced to do a Bollywood movie by any of our makers, would see her big debut come opposite Aamir. A top source reveals, "There is a possibilty that Freida might debut in Bollywood with Dhoom:3.

What we hear is that Adi is quite keen to approach her for the role. As of now the actresses haven't been finalized and so the casting process is only gaining momentum. It is a known fact the Freida was very much on the radar for the Bond film and since Dhoom too has become a franchise now, they might as well root to have as many headline makers as possible.

Plus, Freida and Aamir will be an interesting fresh pairing. As of now we will only have to wait and watch how this snowballs." Freida could not be contacted for a comment and the spokesperson from Aditya's production house rubbished the news and added that the casting the girls for the film has not yet begun.

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L'Oreal rubbishes all the rumors of dropping Aishwarya

Recently, the cosmetics market had a new development that Slumdog Millionaire star Frieda Pinto has been signed as the new L'Oreal model replacing Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai. The news however was only half true that Frieda has shot for an ad, but denied the several media reports that the young Pinto has replaced Aishwarya.

The company has come down with an official statement to clarify things. They have maintained Aishwarya, 37 with them along with Freida, 26, as 'spokes model' along with Sonam Kapoor. A commercial recently saw featuring Frieda alongside many Hollywood beauties which added to the rumors of Aishwarya being dropped. The commercial raised many eyebrows and questions, as people and experts believed that Aish had permanently been dropped.

The media started reporting tiffs between Frieda and Aish soon. L'Oreal Paris however finally came off with an official statement rubbishing all the rumors. Hollywood stars like Andie Macdowell, Beyonce Knowles, Claudia Schiffer, Jane Fonda, Doutzen Kroes, Eva Longoria, Milla Jovovich, Diane Kruger, Cheryl Cole and Rachel Weisz also promote the brand.

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Freida can't zest up vacant IFFI celebrity central

Freida Pinto came, she smiled, but not many people saw it. The 'Slumdog Millionaire' star was the biggest celebrity so far to walk the generally empty red carpet at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) but her presence failed to add any spice. The Mumbai-born actress is in Goa to attend the premiere of Woody Allen's film 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger' in Goa.

There was not much of a crowd when Pinto, dressed in a violet gown, walked the red carpet as not many people seemed aware of her presence. There was a crowd mostly of media persons outside the Inox venue for the premiere of the movie. Call it Allen's magic or the effect of Pinto's beauty, the hall was packed to its full capacity for the film, which is being shown in India for the first time. "It is great to see that the film is a houseful. No matter how big or small a film is, it is always great to know that your film is being liked by people," Pinto said before the screening.

Allen's latest film, a comedy-drama starring Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Gemma Jones and Naomi Watts, was first premiered at the Cannes film festival this year. Pinto plays the role of a musicologist Dia in the film. Brolin's character sees Pinto through a window and falls for her.

Talking about the film, Pinto said, "I learnt a very important thing from the film that the grass is always greener on the other side but I won't say much beyond the fact that it was an honor to work with Woody Allen. He is the best teacher that I have had, considering that I never went to an acting school.

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Freida Pinto: Senseless Bollywood Movies

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto has ruled out plans of starring in Bollywood films, as she is more interested in real cinema rather than the song and dance routines. She has been offered several “stereotypical” roles for “a girl from India” ever since she got famous, but she’s adamant about avoiding parts in masala Bollywood movies.

“I wouldn’t want to do a Bollywood film per se, but I would like to do an Indian language film. For some reason I think Bollywood has become synonymous with commercial cinema, which is song and dance and everything that is larger than life. I am interested in the reality,” says the actor, who got herself an agent in Hollywood soon after the response to Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire.

The actor also worked with Woody Allen on You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger earlier this year. She adds, “It is great to have entertainment, but I think there needs to be something that also makes you want to go back and think about what you’ve seen.”

The actor, whose last release, Miral, failed to impress critics worldwide, says, “Mindless cinema is not my cup of tea..., I could get into trouble for saying that. I don’t think Bollywood is only mindless cinema, but a lot of films they churn out are not films that I completely enjoy watching.

But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t understand the amount of hard work that goes into making those ‘mindless films’. “I say hats off to them for doing what they do, because it takes a lot of courage. It is easier to stand and deliver dialogue. Imagine dancing a song out and expressing through it. I think it is a challenge and requires you to lose your inhibitions,” she adds.

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Bollywood glamour gals battle to become the first Indian Bond girl

Two Bollywood actresses are vying to be the first Indian Bond girl as rumours spread that the next 007 film will be shot in the country. Producers of the film, expected to be directed by Sam Mendes, have been scouting locations in India.

The plot is believed to be set in Afghanistan in landscapes similar to India's Rajasthan deserts and the arid mountains of Ladakh, close to the border with Tibet. In 1983 the Bond film Octopussy featured the Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj in a plot centred on a cult of "octopus" women on a floating island in Udaipur, the "city of lakes" in Rajasthan in western India.

Last week Freida Pinto, who played Latika in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, was linked to the new film in which Daniel Craig will play 007. Her latest film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, directed by Woody Allen, will be released later this year. She is to be the face of L'Oreal cosmetics and is believed to be India's highest paid film star.

Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World and India's most successful actress, was also in the frame, friends told an Indian newspaper. They said Rai, 36, was better suited to the role because of her vast experience in Bollywood and Hollywood.

She recently appeared in Pink Panther 2 with Steve Martin and made her name outside India in Bride and Prejudice. Aged 25 and recently listed as one of the world's most beautiful women by People magazine, Pinto would appear to fit the age and beauty profile.

While Rai is 11 years older, her friends reminded her Indian fans she was once described as the "most beautiful woman in the world" by Julia Roberts. A spokesman for Eon, the film's producers, declined to comment.

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Bollywood beauties vie for role of Bond girl

Aishwarya Rai, left, India's most successful actress, would bring her vast experience in Bollywood and Hollywood to the role of India's first Bond girl.

Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto, right, has been linked to the next James Bond film, which reportedly will be shot in India.

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Freida Pinto insults Shilpa Shetty, refuses to pose with her

It seems like Freida Pinto's Hollywood hangover is far from over. Surprisingly the archetypal Mumbai girl during her visit.

At a recent launch of an international brand's luxury store was seen giving a cold snub to all the Bollywood hotties present.

It was a high profile event and the shutterbugs were busy clicking the ladies as they moved around. Freida kept her distance from the Bollywood starlets.

According to a tabloid, when a photographer requested Freida to pose with Shilpa for a picture, she flatly refused to oblige.

Nevertheless, the girl was seen posing together with other actresses, as Lara Dutta, Malaika Arora, Dia Mirza, Sameera Reddy and many others were present.

At the launch. But next to her was Genelia D'Souza, not Shilpa. Confirming the news.

A source said, "It was evident that Freida wasn't too comfortable with the attention she was getting.

There was a conscious attempt on her part to not be clicked with the B-town actresses. When asked to pose with Shilpa, she just turned it down and moved the other way."

When Shilpa was asked about the incident, she said, "Who is Freida? I don't know about her throwing a tantrum but as far as I know nobody asked me to take a photo with her. I was asked to do one with the entire group and I did that. I have no problems posing with anybody." However Freida did pose with Genelia and Heroes' star Sendhil Ramamurthy, at the event.

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