Two and a half years ago, Slumdog Millionaire became an unlikely global hit, garnered a shelf of Oscars and made stars of all its cast.
It also brought together Freida Pinto and Dev Patel, co-stars and sweethearts ever since. In the September issue of InStyle magazine, Pinto reveals how the pair cope with a long-distance relationship and what Slumdog really meant to her:
On her role in Rise of The Planet of the Apes:
“One of the most beautiful scripts I read in 2010”, as she calls it. She hadn’t seen any previous Planet of the Apes movies. “I
didn’t watch the Tim Burton film,” she says, “and as for the older Charlton Heston film – I walked into the living room once when my mum was watching it, I just laughed and walked out! I was little and didn’t understand it.”
On being one of the world's most high-profile Indian actresses:
“I don’t know if I can call myself a pioneer. But I think for me, the opportunity was so big that I’d be stupid to just waste it and walk away from it.”
“Because acting is something I’ve always wanted to do. I never knew it was going to happen the way it happened. But if I’m going to be presented with an opportunity, it would be silly not to lap it up. And that opportunity was given to me by Slumdog.”
On her lucrative relationship with clothes-house Chanel:
“I tell you why I like Chanel so much: when I started off, no one wanted to give me clothes to wear. Absolutely no one! All the labels said, ‘Who is she?' But Chanel believed in me from the very beginning. For the very first red carpet I did at the Toronto Film Festival [2008], they dressed me up in their very current season collection. It’s a massive brand: why would they invest in someone who is nobody?”
On filming Slumdog Millionaire, the film that made her a star:
“I’ve not had an experience like Slumdog in all of the seven films that I’ve done since. It was a baby that you want to keep repeating over and over again.
On meeting Slumdog co-star Dev Patel, who has been her boyfriend ever since:
“Yes, with the accent, he was a bit nervous. But all I told him was, ‘Don’t do the whole “Goodness Gracious Me!” thing. That just makes it very comical and it’s not required for Slumdog Millionaire’. But I don’t agree with him that I had more experience. I always tell him that he’s got to teach me. His comic timing is like no other. He’s got it, it’s just effortless.”
On her boyfriend's wardrobe:
“He’s not always bang-on! I buy for him all the time – I got him some Sanchita and he really likes it. He’s got his own very good sense of fashion. He loves his Burberry; he wears it to most events – Burberry should give him a contract.”
On talking to each other on Skype:
“We use it a lot – and we hate it as well! It’s like a tease. I also feel it’s this pressure: ‘Oh my God, he’s seeing me after two weeks, I hope my hair is okay’. It’s just hideous. I think even the most beautiful person looks stupid on Skype.”
On why it works:
“I always say, I don’t think there will be anybody who understands it better than him. Not even my family – because they were not with me every step of the way, but he, literally, was. And I was with him.”
GO BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE INSTYLE PHOTOSHOOT WITH FREIDA PINTO:
The full interview with Freida Pinto is in the September issue of InStyle Magazine, on sale tomorrow.
