Halle Berry arrives in Mumbai, unannounced; bonds with Dia Mirza
7:58 AM
BOMBAY TIMES (November 10, 2017)
While it's not rare for
international stars to visit India, it seldom happens that the international atithi catches you unawares.
Hollywood actress Halle Berry announced her presence in Mumbai by
posting a message (captioned Take time to get lost today) and a picture
of herself, albeit shot with her back facing the camera.
From the picture, it seemed like she was strolling along the streets of south Mumbai. She also posted a picture of Mumbai's sunrise and wrote, “Caught a sunrise in Mumbai today.“ Hearsay is that the actress, seen in films like Monsters Ball, Die Another Day and recently in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, is not in Mumbai for a professional commitment. Production sources, who often collaborate with line producers for international projects in India, indicate that she could be here on a personal visit, for some rest, relaxation and rejuvenation.
Incidentally, in her 2011 film Cloud Atlas, she had worn a sari, henna and bangles for her role. Back then, while talking about the movie to the media, she had expressed her keenness to learn more about Indian culture. She was quoted saying, “Most of the main characters are the reincarnations of the same soul through the six stories shown in the movie. It resembles the Indian mythology so much; where there was Lord Rama, who came as the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu and then there were many others. Very few people have explored such themes in Hollywood. I want to take a step towards learning more about one of the oldest cultures in the world.“
Let's hope the Oscar-winning actress has got at least a glimpse of all things desi.
----------------------------From the picture, it seemed like she was strolling along the streets of south Mumbai. She also posted a picture of Mumbai's sunrise and wrote, “Caught a sunrise in Mumbai today.“ Hearsay is that the actress, seen in films like Monsters Ball, Die Another Day and recently in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, is not in Mumbai for a professional commitment. Production sources, who often collaborate with line producers for international projects in India, indicate that she could be here on a personal visit, for some rest, relaxation and rejuvenation.
Incidentally, in her 2011 film Cloud Atlas, she had worn a sari, henna and bangles for her role. Back then, while talking about the movie to the media, she had expressed her keenness to learn more about Indian culture. She was quoted saying, “Most of the main characters are the reincarnations of the same soul through the six stories shown in the movie. It resembles the Indian mythology so much; where there was Lord Rama, who came as the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu and then there were many others. Very few people have explored such themes in Hollywood. I want to take a step towards learning more about one of the oldest cultures in the world.“
Let's hope the Oscar-winning actress has got at least a glimpse of all things desi.
The
Oscar-winning actress spent an afternoon with her Bollywood counterpart
to discuss climate change, pay parity and killer sharks
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 10, 2017)
On Thursday, Halle Berry posted a picture of her “taking time to get lost” as she strolled down a tiled, sun-dappled street. Familiar signage, including the clearly visible name of a popular eatery, pointed to the fact that the Academy Award-winning actress was in Maximum City.
Not wanting to play hide-and-seek with her fans, she went on to make her destination clear by posting another picture of the sun going up on a still sleepy city with the caption, “Caught a sunrise in Mumbai today.”
Her team however remained tight-lipped about the Hollywood stars plans, even refusing to divulge where she was holed up. Mirror however learnt that she had flown down to attend a private event at a suburban hotel where she met her Bollywood counterpart, Dia Mirza, for a tete-a-tete in the afternoon, at around 2:30pm. The two actresses spoke about cinema, climate change, children and Halle’s idea of happiness.
Dia, a self-confessed fan after sitting wide-eyed through films like Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever and Marc Forster’s Monster’s Ball, which fetched Halle her Oscar, told Mirror that the idea was to bring together individuals from two different parts of the world to talk about common experiences.
“She won a beauty pageant, found her way into films and subsequently started producing them. Ditto, so there was this bond of common choices between us, as also a shared love for the environment and nature which was a main topic of discussion. Halle was effusive, warm and wonderfully responsive to the interaction,” asserted Dia, admitting that while watching Monster’s Ball she had never imagined that she would be sharing a platform with its leading lady one day. “That’s why I pointed out that the world is becoming smaller and women are making their own place here.”
Dia went on to add that even Halle acknowledged that she was a fan of Indian cinema and even mentioned having watched a few of our films. “The conversation turned to movies when we were talking about pay parity and gender inequality. With Hollywood actresses bringing up the issue of pay parity, she wanted to know how our film industry functions and what role women play in changing things here. I told her that like women there, we too are learning to say ‘no’ because we know we deserve better. We are also pushing the envelope and going beyond acting to writing, directing and producing,” she maintained.
They went on to talk about stereotypes and how easy it is to get typecast by people’s perception of who they believe you are. “In the early part of my career, I had to work really hard to get people to accept that there was more to me than the way I look. Halle admitted that’s exactly how it had been with her too. While it’s a blessing to look good, it’s also easy for someone to put you in a box,” sighed Dia.
This was the Bond Girl’s first visit to India, but Dia asserted that she already feels a strong connection with our country. “She has fallen in love with India and I am pretty sure she will come back,” she maintained.
Halle had them laughing when she recounted how when filming the 2012 action-thriller, Dark Tide, she had agreed to stroke the Great White, often, unfairly so, called the ‘Killer Shark’. “She was told that her foot needed to be anchored so that if the whale turned back to grab it, it would only get a bite of her arm. She had felt no fear at the time and only realized in retrospect what a terrifying experience it was.”
On Thursday, Halle Berry posted a picture of her “taking time to get lost” as she strolled down a tiled, sun-dappled street. Familiar signage, including the clearly visible name of a popular eatery, pointed to the fact that the Academy Award-winning actress was in Maximum City.
Not wanting to play hide-and-seek with her fans, she went on to make her destination clear by posting another picture of the sun going up on a still sleepy city with the caption, “Caught a sunrise in Mumbai today.”
Her team however remained tight-lipped about the Hollywood stars plans, even refusing to divulge where she was holed up. Mirror however learnt that she had flown down to attend a private event at a suburban hotel where she met her Bollywood counterpart, Dia Mirza, for a tete-a-tete in the afternoon, at around 2:30pm. The two actresses spoke about cinema, climate change, children and Halle’s idea of happiness.
Dia, a self-confessed fan after sitting wide-eyed through films like Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever and Marc Forster’s Monster’s Ball, which fetched Halle her Oscar, told Mirror that the idea was to bring together individuals from two different parts of the world to talk about common experiences.
“She won a beauty pageant, found her way into films and subsequently started producing them. Ditto, so there was this bond of common choices between us, as also a shared love for the environment and nature which was a main topic of discussion. Halle was effusive, warm and wonderfully responsive to the interaction,” asserted Dia, admitting that while watching Monster’s Ball she had never imagined that she would be sharing a platform with its leading lady one day. “That’s why I pointed out that the world is becoming smaller and women are making their own place here.”
Dia went on to add that even Halle acknowledged that she was a fan of Indian cinema and even mentioned having watched a few of our films. “The conversation turned to movies when we were talking about pay parity and gender inequality. With Hollywood actresses bringing up the issue of pay parity, she wanted to know how our film industry functions and what role women play in changing things here. I told her that like women there, we too are learning to say ‘no’ because we know we deserve better. We are also pushing the envelope and going beyond acting to writing, directing and producing,” she maintained.
They went on to talk about stereotypes and how easy it is to get typecast by people’s perception of who they believe you are. “In the early part of my career, I had to work really hard to get people to accept that there was more to me than the way I look. Halle admitted that’s exactly how it had been with her too. While it’s a blessing to look good, it’s also easy for someone to put you in a box,” sighed Dia.
This was the Bond Girl’s first visit to India, but Dia asserted that she already feels a strong connection with our country. “She has fallen in love with India and I am pretty sure she will come back,” she maintained.
Halle had them laughing when she recounted how when filming the 2012 action-thriller, Dark Tide, she had agreed to stroke the Great White, often, unfairly so, called the ‘Killer Shark’. “She was told that her foot needed to be anchored so that if the whale turned back to grab it, it would only get a bite of her arm. She had felt no fear at the time and only realized in retrospect what a terrifying experience it was.”
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