It’s very easy to take on everything, have a blast and then get lost, says Love Sonia actor Freida Pinto

Freida Pinto is often credited as one of the first actors who changed the stereotypical portrayal of Indians in Hollywood. She admits that she considers indie films as her “territory” and that she won’t take up work in Hindi cinema if she isn’t truly convinced. 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 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 and it was phenomenal to see how the expat population reconnected to India though such a real film.

You were getting great films after your debut Slumdog Millionaire (2008). What made you take a break in between?

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 half years to develop talent, certain tools that an actor needs, to be able to read deeper, to be able to emote better and most importantly have personal growth. Today, I’m more confident and okay to even accept my vulnerabilities and be unapologetic about that.

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 and ask whatever about the film. But when it comes to my private time, it is ‘private’ and I’m a human, just like you. So, I completely stay away from that kind of exposure, it’s not my thing.

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 a batman and that’s because exits can be very tedious; you have say bye to everyone.

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

My sensibility when it comes to cinema is very particular, and Bollywood sensibilities in terms of masala films with songs and dances, is also very particular. So, for me to do a Bollywood film, when I know that I’m not capable of portraying characters in that manner, it’s 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 belong, and that’s where I can be alive, not to say that the commercial world isn’t.

Interact with Monika Rawal Kukreja at Twitter/@monikarawal

First Published: Sep 24, 2018 18:36 IST