Guerrilla character a ‘role that actors live for,’ Pinto says
In the midst of the bleakness and despair that flavoured much of 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, Freida Pinto stood out.
The film, which won several Oscars, including best picture, marked Pinto’s breakthrough, and the lingering shot of her character, Latika, smiling radiantly from a train platform at her childhood friend and love of her life, Jamal (Dev Patel), was one of the drama’s most memorable images.
But smiles do not come easily for Jas Mitra, the radical activist portrayed by the Indian actor in Showtime’s new limited series Guerrilla, premièring tonight. In the fictional drama, which takes place in 1971 London against the backdrop of the urban guerrilla movement, Jas is fuelled by a fierceness that has little tolerance for those who do not share her allconsuming quest for justice.
Accompanied by her less impulsive black boyfriend, Marcus Hill (Babou Ceesay), Jas becomes even more uncompromising — and violent — as the couple head down a dangerous path.
“I’ve never been able to play somebody like this — I’ve never been given the chance,” Pinto said recently in a Pasadena hotel during a promotional stop for the six-episode drama, created by Oscar winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave).
“This is the kind of role that actors live for,” she added. “You can play characters that are good but don’t always show your range. I’ve always known that if you give me the chance, I’ll show you what I can do. I am so blessed that John saw in me the passion and the drive I have.”
Guerrilla is likely to be a revelation for those who know Pinto mostly for Slumdog Millionaire or as the glamorous face of cosmetics ads. The role has also provoked some controversy.
With a deliberate candour, Pinto was animated as she addressed the double-edged sword of her post-Slumdog Millionaire career.
“Slumdog was a film that I’m oh-so grateful for, but it also came with a stereotype: ‘Oh, she’s a sunshine girl, she never does anything wrong, she’s flawless,’” Pinto said. “Labels associated with beauty were getting assigned to me, and that gets stifling. When that becomes the public and industry perception, that’s all you get. And God knows it gets so damn boring, particularly when you don’t resonate with those kinds of labels.
“It was so frustrating, and I knew I was capable of doing more, so I made an active decision to go slow, deciding I was not going to do work that reinforced that stereotype, that I would only work with people who could see the different me. John Ridley was definitely the first in many, many years to see that.”
In a phone interview, Ridley said he was immediately impressed when he first met with Pinto about the role. Along with her identification with the character, Ridley said he was moved by Pinto’s off-camera charity work.
“In addition to being a very talented person, Freida is also very passionate,” Ridley said. “I knew she had spent time working with activist causes and working with underprivileged children all over the world. She had a way of speaking with passion but without anger.”