What does Freida Pinto crave for?

Freida Pinto is often credited as one of the first actors who changed the stereotypical portrayal of Indians in Hollywood. She is also one of the few actors who doesn’t like to be papped. She tells us why she doesn’t, as she also talks about her latest film, Love Sonia (on global sex trafficking as its subject), and also answers the big question – when will she do a Bollywood film?

You heard about Love Sonia some 10 years ago. How was it to finally bring it on the big screen?

It was like getting that little baby out in the world who you’ve nurtured for years. It was wonderful that we got to show the film at the London and Melbourne film festivals. It was phenomenal to see how the expat population reconnected to India through such a real film.

You are back to the screen after two years. What made you take this break?

The break is possibly the most important thing I’ve done in my entire career. Of course, I’ve done very important films but I wasn’t taking the moment to step back and think about what I really wanted to do and the kind of voice I wanted to have as an actor.

It’s easy to take on everything, go all about, have a big blast, and then just get lost. But what I really craved and what I still work towards, is longevity. For that, you need to take a step back and hone your craft.

I used those two-and-a-half years to develop certain tools that an actor needs... and, have personal growth. Today, I’m more confident and okay to even accept my vulnerabilities and be unapologetic about it.

Why do you stay away from paparazzi?

I absolutely do not like being photographed in my private time. If I’m promoting a film, I give it my all — take as many photos, ask whatever about the film. When it comes to my private time, it is ‘private’.

What’s that one thing that no one knows about you?

You know I make very good Irish exits — if a party is on and I need to leave, nobody even gets to know I have left. I leave like the Batman, and that’s because exits can be very tedious; you have to say ‘bye’ to everyone.

When do we see you do a typical, commercial, masala Bollywood film?

My sensibility, when it comes to cinema, is very particular, including for Bollywood masala films where there is song and dance.

For me to do a Bollywood film, when I know I’m not capable of portraying characters in that manner, is setting [myself] up for failure. I don’t want to do that.

I want to do films where I can put myself out there, push the envelope and not be inhibited to feel that this is my territory. I feel the indie world is my territory and it’s where I can be alive.

PHOTO: RAAJESSH KASHYAP/HT