Freida Pinto gets chatty on her dream project, new endeavours, Hrithik Roshan and Christian Bale, but is mum on Dev Patel and Sidhartha Mallya
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 5, 2015)


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, Sidhartha 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 talks about her Girl Rising campaign in India
Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; August 31, 2015)


Tell us about your campaign…
Girl Rising is a global campaign for girls’ education that uses the power of storytelling to share the simple truth that educating girls can transform societies. It unites girls, women, boys and men who believe every girl has the right to go to school and the right to reach her full potential. Our mission is to change the way the world values the girl and ensure that girls’ education is part of the mainstream global conversation. So, I, along with a lot other strong, influential women, be it Priyanka, Sushmita, Madhuri, Alia, Parineeti and others, decided to bring this in India through a film.

Would you call this campaign an extension of yourself?
Oh God! I hope so. I get attracted to projects if I feel they are impactful. I don’t look for myself in the characters I play. It need not necessarily be who I am but I need to know the strength. Whether the strength is internalised or it projects an outward appearance, that’s very important. Why do we go to watch films? Because we want to be inspired or entertained, want to laugh or feel. If I don’t feel that while taking up a project, I wouldn’t do it.

How would you define a strong woman in today’s world?
A strong woman for me would be someone who knows herself — not just her strengths — she knows her weaknesses and shortcomings as well.

Who in Bollywood fits that bill?
I love Sushmita Sen. One of the reasons why I really wanted her to be in this project is she is an absolutely self-made woman. If I talk about successful women and you start counting how many films you’ve done or how much money your films have made, I don’t know if you would count Sushmita in it, but for me, she is the most successful woman. Because not only has she made a mark on the international platform with her beauty pageant and in the film industry, she is a wonderful mother. She stands her ground, says what she has to say and is not worried about telling, you are wrong or admitting she’s wrong.

With Bollywood actors coming on board, do you think this will bring a change in the society at large?
Let me first clarify, this is not about actresses. It’s not about me or Priyanka or Alia or others. We, as actresses are just providing the vehicles for these girls whose stories we are actually telling. These are not girls who are famous or are on magazine covers. They are your everyday girls. This is, not in any way, for any of us to be furthering our good image. In fact, Mr. Bachchan and Farhan too are there in the film but it’s just their voices. So the shift that you are talking about can only happen if we can use the star power to leverage the cause and then empower communities, teachers, schools and governments to take this campaign forward on their own.

Deepika’s video on women empowerment caused a lot of controversy...
I don’t think I have watched this particular one. We aren’t telling controversial stories. At the same time, we don’t want to lie and if there’s some injustice, we want to report that in our story. It’s not a controversial film, but a very inspirational one.

MUMBAI MIRROR (February 20, 2015)

Freida Pinto will host the Vanity Fair pre-Oscar party for the second time today. Besides celebrating the magic of the movies, it's a platform to build awareness for the actress's non-profit production venture, Girl Rising, a movement centered around a film about nine girls born into unforgiving circumstances.

The evening will feature a special performance by DJ Taryn Manning and Ms Nix. Funds raised from the event will be directed towards furthering initiatives under the Girl Rising campaign.

Says Freida, "It's a spectacular way to draw attention to the Girl Rising - India movement among my peers and the audience, especially since most of the world is clued in because of the prestigious upcoming Oscars. As a producer and ambassador for the Girl Rising movement, I feel so proud to see our baby taking its first steps, to becoming a revolution that aims at giving girls that much required chance to unleash their full potential, one that aims at changing mindsets towards India's daughters."

Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 5, 2014)

Priyanka Chopra has lent her voice to the feature film Girl Rising directed by Oscar nominated director, Richard E Robbins. The actress has provided a voice-over in English and Hindi for the film which highlights nine stories of young women from around the world who have used education to rise above poverty and adversity.

While the Indian story features PeeCee's voice, the film also has voiceovers by Academy Award winning actress Anne Hathaway and pop star Selena Gomez.

A source told Mirror, “Though Priyanka is a globe trekker, she dubbed this movie in India. She saw portions of the documentary and was moved by the stories.”

The Indian story has been written by Sooni Taraporevala, the award winning screenwriter of films like Mississipi Masala and Salaam Bombay.

The source added, “Priyanka has seen the Indian story many times now. She has told her friends to see the film whenever they get the opportunity.”