Freida Pinto: Hrithik's compliment for my film heartwarming
Freida Pinto's days are never normal or routine. Besides her yoga workouts and some meals, nothing else runs to a pattern. "I sleep strange, I work odd hours and am constantly planning and putting together new ideas. I love the craziness, but I also crave abnormal days, when all I'm doing is lying in bed or soaking in a hot tub and eating sushi," she admits.
However, there's no time to chill now with her dream project, Girl Rising, taking off. The idea is to use moving stories to sensitise people not just to realities but also a need to be a part of the change. "I see this project as a beginning -of awakening, of change, of a movement that will be so inspirational that we will end up having many takers, supporters and volunteers by the time we're ready for phase two," she asserts. Freida admits that they're in talks with key change drivers and policy makers to ensure their ground work bears fruit on a larger scale.
The Prime Minister has aligned the vision with his national campaign, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. Frieda who met Narendra Modi during her last visit to India, says he suggested they launch on August 29, as Raksha Bandhan is a meaningful day. "Like us, he believes in the power of good storytelling," she says.
That trip to the Capital also sparked off talks of a music video and an international single with singer-composer Vishal Dadlani next year. Freida laughs, "You've got a few things right and a few things wrong....Vishal, music, next year, are all correct...The rest I cannot reveal yet."
The actress, who shot to fame with the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire, is equally evasive about her personal life. She grabbed headlines when pictures of her pole dancing outside a pub on her birthday, Siddharth Mallya looking on, leaked online. Bring it up and she says, "There is nothing to comment on really." She also refuses to talk about her break-up with Dev Patel, insisting that she has never spoken about her personal life. "So unfortunately this time is no different," she retorts.
Meanwhile, Trishna, was supposed to release early this year in India but didn't. Buzz is, she was unhappy with the Indian cut and the promotional campaign, which portrayed it as a semi-porn film."Let's just say that I'm happy the film is on Itunes and Netflix. I'm sure those who would like to watch it have a legal way of accessing it," she maintains.
In Bollywood, she loves the work Richa Chadha is doing."She's smart, intelligent and incredibly talented. A lethal combo,"Freida asserts.
She had once stated that she was unable to find roles in a hero-centric Hindi cinema. But today, she is happy to see films that are not just alternative but also that these women-centric stories are getting such phenomenal backing and setups. "I'm open to and excited about working in Indian films with a global appeal," she asserts.
Has she ever felt inferior or discriminated against, particularly in the film studios? "On the contrary I'm proud to have not only been given the opportunity to break barriers but also the credibility and a recognisable launch to execute it successfully," she says. "Gender bias exists without a doubt, but we also have enough and more women who are flagbearers of standing their own ground and creating a space for themselves, like Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett."
Speaking about opportunities on the basis of skin tone, she points out that you can't be expected to be cast in a film with an all-Japanese cast. One has to be realistic, aware of one's appeal and ability. "But for every three stereotypical roles, there is at least one good, wholesome, satisfying one too," avers Freida, who enjoys the challenge of changing the game."It makes work interesting everyday, even if some days get frustrating. I've become adept at adopting a positive, fighter like approach."
Freida has some interesting films coming up, like Blunt Force Trauma and Knight Of Cups, also featuring Christian Bale and Natalie Portman. She says, "In the first I play Colt, the female lead. And this may sound weird, but I haven't seen the latter yet. I actually don't always like watching my films. Also, a Terrence Malick film is hard to describe with word limits, it's a detailed experience. Christian was a brilliant co-star, I learnt a lot from observing him."
There's also lot of curiosity about Jungle Book: Origins. "This is the part where I say ...Patience!" she laughs. "I'm excited for Jungle Book as should everyone else. This is going to be epic!" Her recent Twitter conversation with Hrithik Roshan made news for days until she replied to his tweet. Any chance of seeing them together on screen? "Hrithik's compliment for my film, Desert Dancer, and my performance was heartwarming. Receiving such kind words from an artiste and performer like him inspires me to do better," she says. "I don't know him well so I can't comment on our rapport. But as an artiste, there will always be shared respect and encouragement for each others' work."
She's heartened by the support from Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Parineeti Chopra, Nandita Das and Sushmita Sen and promises that they'll collaborate more. "I've always believed in collaboration as opposed to creating change singularly. Going solo is usually never successful, it is terrible leadership."
Freida Pinto's days are never normal or routine. Besides her yoga workouts and some meals, nothing else runs to a pattern. "I sleep strange, I work odd hours and am constantly planning and putting together new ideas. I love the craziness, but I also crave abnormal days, when all I'm doing is lying in bed or soaking in a hot tub and eating sushi," she admits.
However, there's no time to chill now with her dream project, Girl Rising, taking off. The idea is to use moving stories to sensitise people not just to realities but also a need to be a part of the change. "I see this project as a beginning -of awakening, of change, of a movement that will be so inspirational that we will end up having many takers, supporters and volunteers by the time we're ready for phase two," she asserts. Freida admits that they're in talks with key change drivers and policy makers to ensure their ground work bears fruit on a larger scale.
The Prime Minister has aligned the vision with his national campaign, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. Frieda who met Narendra Modi during her last visit to India, says he suggested they launch on August 29, as Raksha Bandhan is a meaningful day. "Like us, he believes in the power of good storytelling," she says.
That trip to the Capital also sparked off talks of a music video and an international single with singer-composer Vishal Dadlani next year. Freida laughs, "You've got a few things right and a few things wrong....Vishal, music, next year, are all correct...The rest I cannot reveal yet."
The actress, who shot to fame with the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire, is equally evasive about her personal life. She grabbed headlines when pictures of her pole dancing outside a pub on her birthday, Siddharth Mallya looking on, leaked online. Bring it up and she says, "There is nothing to comment on really." She also refuses to talk about her break-up with Dev Patel, insisting that she has never spoken about her personal life. "So unfortunately this time is no different," she retorts.
Meanwhile, Trishna, was supposed to release early this year in India but didn't. Buzz is, she was unhappy with the Indian cut and the promotional campaign, which portrayed it as a semi-porn film."Let's just say that I'm happy the film is on Itunes and Netflix. I'm sure those who would like to watch it have a legal way of accessing it," she maintains.
In Bollywood, she loves the work Richa Chadha is doing."She's smart, intelligent and incredibly talented. A lethal combo,"Freida asserts.
She had once stated that she was unable to find roles in a hero-centric Hindi cinema. But today, she is happy to see films that are not just alternative but also that these women-centric stories are getting such phenomenal backing and setups. "I'm open to and excited about working in Indian films with a global appeal," she asserts.
Has she ever felt inferior or discriminated against, particularly in the film studios? "On the contrary I'm proud to have not only been given the opportunity to break barriers but also the credibility and a recognisable launch to execute it successfully," she says. "Gender bias exists without a doubt, but we also have enough and more women who are flagbearers of standing their own ground and creating a space for themselves, like Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett."
Speaking about opportunities on the basis of skin tone, she points out that you can't be expected to be cast in a film with an all-Japanese cast. One has to be realistic, aware of one's appeal and ability. "But for every three stereotypical roles, there is at least one good, wholesome, satisfying one too," avers Freida, who enjoys the challenge of changing the game."It makes work interesting everyday, even if some days get frustrating. I've become adept at adopting a positive, fighter like approach."
Freida has some interesting films coming up, like Blunt Force Trauma and Knight Of Cups, also featuring Christian Bale and Natalie Portman. She says, "In the first I play Colt, the female lead. And this may sound weird, but I haven't seen the latter yet. I actually don't always like watching my films. Also, a Terrence Malick film is hard to describe with word limits, it's a detailed experience. Christian was a brilliant co-star, I learnt a lot from observing him."
There's also lot of curiosity about Jungle Book: Origins. "This is the part where I say ...Patience!" she laughs. "I'm excited for Jungle Book as should everyone else. This is going to be epic!" Her recent Twitter conversation with Hrithik Roshan made news for days until she replied to his tweet. Any chance of seeing them together on screen? "Hrithik's compliment for my film, Desert Dancer, and my performance was heartwarming. Receiving such kind words from an artiste and performer like him inspires me to do better," she says. "I don't know him well so I can't comment on our rapport. But as an artiste, there will always be shared respect and encouragement for each others' work."
She's heartened by the support from Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Parineeti Chopra, Nandita Das and Sushmita Sen and promises that they'll collaborate more. "I've always believed in collaboration as opposed to creating change singularly. Going solo is usually never successful, it is terrible leadership."
-TOI
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