Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Freida Pinto on exploring opportunities outside Hollywood

2024 looks to be a big year for Pinto with a slew of projects potentially coming to fruition.

Freida Pinto on exploring opportunities outside Hollywood

Actress Freida Pinto, who rose to fame with her role in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, talked about her future projects and said that she doesn't want to confine herself to Hollywood, reported Variety.

"I've always looked at cinema globally," she told Variety. "After Slumdog, I could have easily played all the Indian roles, the girlfriends and sidekicks, or just gone and done something only in India."


Talking about playing challenging roles like playing a Palestinian girl in Miral, which is a biographical political film directed by Julian Schnabel.

"I know it's not okay these days because the world has opened up and there's so much talent," Pinto said. "But -- and I don't mean this in a pompous way -- with a film like Miral, where I'm playing a Palestinian girl and it's such a controversial subject matter, they needed someone then who could put butts on seats. I now see that's why they chose me, but at the time I thought: I can see myself as x, y, and z, and I feel that in me too. The way I think now is not the way I thought back then, at all. But those films opened doors and made people more aware of a whole region, which has so much talent and so many stories that are not being told frequently enough. I wouldn't do it now, but I'm very proud of what I did then."

As the actress attended Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Film Festival, she shared how it feels to be in Saudi Arabia where Bollywood stars are greeted with such adulation, according to Variety.

"Bollywood is all over the region. The Middle East and Northern Africa. I believe it's also huge in Japan. When I was filming in Israel and Palestine, I remember going into the old city of Jerusalem, and they were selling DVDs of old Bollywood movies and they would say "Hind," which means Indian in Arabic. They would ask me, even though I was in character, if I knew all the old Bollywood actors, which I said no."

"I think what works is the escapism, which is something Bollywood cinema does best. I love what we do in the Western world as well, but there's something magical about Bollywood and it's always about family, love, and culture, and it's immediately relatable for the Middle East. Coming together, respect for your elders, all of that is represented in Indian Cinema and although Saudi Arabia and India are different countries, there's no disconnect, when it comes to that. The Western world and their beliefs are more nuclear than the extended family," she added.

Sharing about her plans, she said, "The opportunities are changing now. We're celebrating 'Minari' and 'Parasite' at the Oscars. You're in a bubble if you think Hollywood is the only thing. There's Asian cinema that isn't tapped into or explored, and they're all doing well in their own countries as well as elsewhere. I don't want to be just doing Hollywood and working with the filmmakers who we hear about over and over again. That's why I would love to work with Nadine Labaki. I loved her first film 'Caramel' and I've been hoping an opportunity would come and now with my own production company I can create that opportunity for myself if I wanted to."

2024 looks to be a big year for Pinto with a slew of projects potentially coming to fruition, including roles in Season 2 of Apple TV+ show Surface and a film adaptation of Onjali Q. Rauf's The Boy at the Back of the Class.

As a producer, she has four projects near "the finishing line," including a Deepa Mehta film. "It's all coming together," she said, reported Variety.

More For You

Cierra Ortega

Cierra Ortega addresses her Love Island USA exit in a TikTok video

Instagram/cierra.ortega

Cierra Ortega apologises after Love Island USA exit over resurfaced racist post

Highlights

  • Cierra Ortega has exited Love Island USA after a past social media post using a slur resurfaced.
  • The 25-year-old content creator said she “had no idea” the word was a racial slur.
  • Ortega apologised to the Asian community and said she accepts being removed from the show.
  • She revealed her family has been threatened and immigration authorities were called on them.

Cierra Ortega, a contestant on this season of Love Island USA, has publicly apologised after an old social media post containing a racial slur resurfaced, prompting her sudden exit from the popular reality series.

The 25-year-old Los Angeles-based content creator addressed the controversy in a video, expressing regret for using a derogatory term towards Asian people in a post made last year. Ortega, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, said she was unaware of the word’s offensive meaning at the time but took full responsibility.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rashmika Mandanna joins Allu Arjun

Rashmika Mandanna teams up with Allu Arjun again in Atlee’s next

Getty Images/Youtube Screengrab/Sun Pictures

Rashmika Mandanna joins Allu Arjun and Deepika Padukone in Atlee's sci-fi spectacle 'AA22xA6'

Highlights:

 
     
  • Rashmika Mandanna to star opposite Allu Arjun in Atlee’s big-budget sci-fi project AA22xA6.
  •  
  • The film already features Deepika Padukone, Janhvi Kapoor, and Mrunal Thakur.
  •  
  • Rashmika has completed a look test and body scan in Los Angeles.
  •  
  • Film to release in multiple languages by late 2026 or early 2027.
  •  
 

Rashmika Mandanna is officially part of director Atlee’s highly ambitious sci-fi feature, tentatively titled AA22xA6. With Allu Arjun headlining the project, the casting of Rashmika not only reunites the Pushpa duo but also strengthens what is being called one of the biggest star ensembles in Indian cinema today. The Sun Pictures production already boasts names like Deepika Padukone, Janhvi Kapoor, and Mrunal Thakur, and now Rashmika’s addition has significantly heightened the buzz.

 Allu Arjun teams up with Atlee for 376 million sci-fi  Director Atlee and Allu Arjun brainstorm futuristic concepts with top Hollywood VFX studios in LA  Youtube Screengrab  

Keep ReadingShow less
Hugh Grant falls asleep

Hugh Grant wearing sunglasses naps behind Queen Camilla during the quarterfinal

Twitter/talkingtennis/Getty Images

Hugh Grant falls asleep during Wimbledon 2025 match while seated behind Queen Camilla

Highlights:

  • Hugh Grant was spotted napping during the Djokovic vs Cobolli quarter-final at Wimbledon 2025.
  • The actor sat in the Royal Box just behind Queen Camilla and her sister.
  • Social media erupted with memes, jokes, and criticism, calling it the “£700 (₹74,200) nap.”
  • Novak Djokovic made history in the match, advancing to his record-breaking 14th Wimbledon semi-final.

British actor Hugh Grant unexpectedly stole attention from Wimbledon 2025’s quarter-finals, not for a performance, but for taking a mid-match nap. The 64-year-old was captured on camera dozing off in the Royal Box on Wednesday, 9 July, during Novak Djokovic’s high-stakes match against Flavio Cobolli.

Wearing dark sunglasses and seated next to his wife, Anna Elisabet Eberstein, Grant leaned into a deep slouch with his hands in his lap. What made the moment even more of a social media spectacle was his location, just behind Queen Camilla and her sister, Annabel Elliot.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kajol

Kajol says star kids face harsher pressure as Ibrahim Ali Khan gears up for Sarzameen

Getty Images

Kajol defends Ibrahim Ali Khan amid trolling, says star kids today face a do or die reality

Highlights:

  • Kajol says today’s star kids face intense pressure to succeed immediately.
  • She compares their experience to her own, where she had time and space to evolve.
  • The actor is starring as Ibrahim Ali Khan’s mother in the upcoming film Sarzameen.
  • Kajol stresses the importance of reinvention and praises new actors for adapting beyond films.

Kajol believes the new generation of star kids in Bollywood are under far more pressure than actors from her era. The actress, who will soon be seen in Sarzameen alongside debutant Ibrahim Ali Khan, said young actors today are expected to prove themselves instantly, and harsh judgement follows if they don’t.

 Kajol  Kajol discusses star kids and the changing rules of BollywoodGetty Images

Keep ReadingShow less
Cardi B wears blooming 3D flowers

Cardi B continues her bold fashion streak with floral runway glamour

Instagram/rahulmishra_7

Cardi B stuns in a 3D floral Rahul Mishra gown at Paris Couture Week

Highlights:

  • Cardi B wore a ruby-red custom Rahul Mishra gown with sculptural 3D flowers at Paris Couture Week.
  • The outfit followed her earlier dramatic appearance at Schiaparelli in a fringe dress with a live crow.
  • She’s currently working on her debut album Am I the Drama? and a beauty venture with Revolve.
  • The look featured diamond accessories, a sculpted bun, and smoky makeup to match the theatrical dress.

Cardi B took her fashion game to new heights in Paris, stepping out in a dramatic Rahul Mishra creation that fused red carpet glamour with runway sculpture. The rapper’s custom-made gown, featuring 3D blooming flowers and a shimmering ruby base, was a highlight at Paris Haute Couture Week, making it one of her most talked-about looks this season.

 Cardi B wears blooming 3D flowers Cardi B's red gown features 3D sculpted flowers and intricate embroideryInstagram/rahulmishra_7

Keep ReadingShow less