'Miral's' Freida Pinto aims for a global takeover

[bemildred]

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Although she doesn't share Miral's background, Pinto found her own way of relating to the character's situation. "Even though I was born into a democratic nation, through history books and through my grandparents I have heard about suffering between India and Pakistan," she says. "Two people belonging to the same land were unnecessarily divided, and there was a lot of suffering and a lack of acceptance on both sides. So I could relate to the whole Israeli-Palestinian thing because of that, and I think it's really sad."

In all, Pinto spent 31/2 months in the Palestinian territories, including six weeks before production began visiting refugee camps where non-Arabs seldom venture, including one in Ramallah where the children trot up to strangers with stones in their hands to welcome unwanted visitors. "They were not very sure what I was doing there, and they were not very accepting," Pinto recalls. But as soon as she spoke a few words of Arabic to them, she says, "They said, 'OK, she's warm,' and the stones went down."

Not surprisingly, Pinto is impatient that her nationality should define the roles she plays or where she works. "I don't want to play Queen Elizabeth," she says. "That would be ridiculous. But I find it funny when people say, 'She's Indian — why did she play a Palestinian?' When people ask me, 'Why don't you do films back in India?' I say that cinema is so global and the world is so small, and everybody is somehow connected to everyone. Why can't I just be part of the global cinema?"

The actors she admires are those who can leave their roles on the set, no matter how intense. She recalls watching Mickey Rourke on the set of "Immortals": "The scene I saw, he really put himself into a dark place, and he did it by grunting and using his body. It was very physical. And then the moment it was, 'Cut,' he's Mickey again, laughing and telling jokes."

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-freida-pinto-20110327,0,6035119.story

[Ken Burch]

1. I really wish the L.A. Times had used a different term than "global takeover"

Even though all Frieda Pinto was talking about was her own film career, in this forum some people will intentionally take it to mean something different.

[oberliner]

2. Have you seen this film?

If so, what did you think?

[bemildred]

3. No, doubt that I will, I'm more interested in people's reactions to it.

I don't watch TV or movies much, it usually bores me.

[oberliner]

4. I thought it stunk

In case you are interested, I found it really tedious.

[bemildred]

5. Well, I admire you for sitting through it. nt