Pinto was propelled to celebrity riding on the back of Slumdog Millionaire's runaway success. While soon-to-be-seen in in the title role of the Julian Schnabel film about his Palestinian girlfriend, Miral, since then she's done little of significance with her newfound fame to address any of the very issues she was portraying in the 2008 Oscar-winning film.
As I'm of Indian origin, I always feel proud to see people of my heritage represented overseas. But someone like Pinto, who has catapulted to fame with few discernible talents and not capitalized on her new status to do any good for her country, just makes me sad.
I had the misfortune of seeing her in an airport lounge in Dubai last year. Not only was she sporting gigantic sunglasses INDOORS (I lived in New York and can't remember the last time I saw a supposedly A-list celebrity act so unapproachable), but she did not acknowledge any fans who came up to her. While many Hollywood actresses largely appear off-screen as elegant yet down-to-earth (from Ann Hathaway to Drew Barrymore), Pinto just seemed insecure.
Here's a tip, Ms. Pinto: You have been thrust into the world spotlight and you're an ambassador for Indian women. Please show us to be the intelligent, graceful and compassionate creatures we really are. Refrain from talking only about which designers you are wearing.
And take off those God-awful sunglasses and give us a smile once in a while. You're famous because you were lucky. So give back to society with that fame.
An excerpt from her Glamour interview:
GLAMOUR: How is it possible for you to maintain your privacy in India?
FREIDA PINTO: Here you have to do Bollywood films to be recognized, so I’m lucky. In the morning, I jog around the park with my sister in our building’s complex. She keeps making fun of me because I wear big sunglasses: “Oh, it’s the celebrity Freida Pinto with her big sunglasses on.” And I say, “I’m doing it to protect my eyes from the sun!”
GLAMOUR: You’ve played women of several different ethnicities. Do you identify as an actress first, an Indian woman first, or neither?
FREIDA PINTO: I think people are starting to become more color-blind in the industry. Of course, my Indian-ness cannot be ignored. At the same time, if I am being considered for a romantic comedy, I would like if [the script] didn’t try to inject as much ethnicity into the story as possible.
