Her
career
till
now
has
been
made
up
of
stuff
that
few
would
even
dare
to
dream
of.
Her
looks
are
something
that
any
average
model
in
Mumbai
can
boast
of.
And
her
lineage
is
something
that
does
not
automatically
catapult
one
to
stardom.
Yet
Freida
Pinto
is
a
star
today.
And
a
big
international
one,
having
walked
the
red
carpet
at
almost
all
the
big
film
festivals
that
matter,
thanks
to
her
first
film
Slumdog
Millionaire.
"I
come
from
a
completely
non-filmy
background,
being
born
to
Mangalorean
parents
in
Mumbai.
The
only
connection
I
had
with
the
entertainment
industry
was
my
sister,
who
works
as
a
producer
in
NDTV," says
Freida
while
talking
about
her
background.
"But
I
did
have
dreams
of
making
a
career
in
acting
which
is
why
I
used
to
participate
in
all
dramatics
events
in
my
college
(St
Xavier's
in
Mumbai)
In
fact,
I
even
started
walking
the
ramp
and
modeling
for
different
brands
after
graduating
I
wanted
a
toehold
in
the
entertainment
industry,"
says
Freida
while
walking
down
the
memory
lane.
Freida
took
up
modeling
quite
seriously
and
before
she
could
bat
an
eyelid,
she
landed
up
with
prestigious
assignments
for
big
brands
like
Wrigleys,
Skoda,
India
Today,
De
Beers,
Hutch,
Airtel
and
Visa.
"Though
I
was
getting
lot
of
good
modeling
assignments
and
doing
quite
well,
I
was
not
completely
satisfied
since
I
wanted
to
make
a
mark
in
acting," says
the
mode-turned
actress
who
started
doing
rounds
of
production
houses
and
participating
in
various
auditions
in
search
of
a
break.
"As
part
of
one
such
routine
audition
process,
I
got
a
call
from
Loveleen
Tandon,
the
casting
director
of
Slumdog
Millionaire.
Initially
I
could
not
believe
that
they
were
actually
calling
me
to
audition
for
a
Danny
Boyle
film,
but
as
they
say
truth
is
stranger
than
fiction," says
Freida
while
recollecting
fond
memories
of
her
audition.
The
entire
process
went
on
for
close
to
six
months.
"Since
I
had
no
training
in
acting,
neither
had
I
acted
in
any
other
film,
I
was
confident
of
not
getting
selected!
In
fact,
the
audition
process
itself
was
a
big
learning
for
me.
It
was
nothing
short
of
an
acting
course,"
says
Freida
who
was
pleasantly
surprised
at
getting
selected
for
the
role.
Once
she
was
selected,
there
was
no
looking
back
for
the
Mumbai
girl.
It
was
a
dream
run
for
her,
though
it
involved
a
lot
of
hard
work.
Freida
shot
for
the
film
in
her
hometown
Mumbai,
though
later
on
she
toured
the
entire
world
to
receive
various
awards
and
accolades.
"I
think
I
have
lived
through
all
my
dreams
in
the
four
months
that
I
worked
in
the
film.
A
newbie
like
me
could
not
have
expected
anything
else.
Working
with
Danny
Boyle,
the
director,
was
a
fantastic
experience.
There
is
so
much
to
learn
from
him
and
he
did
teach
me
a
lot"
says
Freida.
"The
entire
cast
and
crew
of
the
film
worked
very
well
as
a
team.
I
developed
a
very
good
rapport
with
Dev
Patel,
my
co-star
in
the
film.
Since
he
was
new
to
Mumbai,
being
an
NRI,
I
used
to
show
him
different
places
in
the
city
and
have
great
fun,"
says
the
24-year
old
model
turned
actress
who
has
become
an
international
celebrity
now.
The
film,
apart
from
the
accolades,
has
also
received
some
brickbats
for
showcasing
the
tried
and
tested
poverty
theme
from
India.
Freida,
expectedly
rubbishes
all
that
and
has
been
quoted
as
saying,
"This
is
one
of
the
most
honest
films
made
about
my
city.
There
is
not
an
iota
of
imagination
in
the
movie."
The
realistic
movie,
based
on
a
reality
show
has
since
won
a
number
of
awards
across
the
globe,
including
four
Golden
Globe
awards
for
best
film—drama,
best
director
and
music.
Slumdog
Millionaire
has
also
won
awards
at
the
Toronto
Film
Festival,
Austin
Film
Festival
and
British
Independent
Awards.
No
mean
achievement
that!
Needless
to
say,
Freida
is
on
Cloud
Nine
after
all
these
accolades.
But
to
her
credit,
she
has
not
lost
touch
with
the
ground
level
realities.
"I
am
just
starting
my
career
and
need
to
be
very
careful
about
every
step
I
take.
With
so
many
awards
for
the
film,
expectations
from
me
have
definitely
skyrocketed.
I
have
to
be
very
choosy
about
the
roles
I
take
up
in
my
future
projects,"
says
the
actress.
Would
she
be
doing
Hindi
films?
"I
am
not
sure
whether
I
will
be
able
to
do
the
typical
Hindi
potboiler
or
not,
but
I
would
definitely
like
to
do
Hindi
films.
However,
right
now
I
would
prefer
working
on
some
Hollywood
projects,"
explains
the
actress
who
has
already
hired
agents
in
India
and
the
US
to
hunt
for
the
right
project
for
her.