Bonding with Frieda..

Mallika Sherawat may not be known for her ability to make friends easily but she makes exceptions once in a while. A source close to the actress says that when Madame M was in Cannes for the international film festival, last month, she happened to bump into another desi beauty — Freida Pinto at the Amfar dinner.

The common point between Freida and Mallika is that they are Indians who are trying to make it big in Hollywood. The source says that no one expected the two to acknowledge each others presence and thought that Mallika would want to be left by herself at the exclusive event. But trust Mallika to spring a surprise when you least expect it.

“We don’t know how it all happened. But the next thing we knew was that Mallika and Freida were chatting with each other. There was no sign of any animosity between them and they even gladly posed for pictures together,” says the source.

So, what did the two talk about? “We’re not sure. But they were overheard discussing their upcoming films and life in Hollywood in general. Mallika and Freida didn’t have a common agenda, because Freida was representing a cosmetic brand while Mallika was not part of any such group. But they discussed the difference in working styles back home and in Hollywood,” says the source.

Not most Bollywood beauties like to acknowledge another actor’s presence, especially when they are at international events, so we guess this comes as a welcome change, or is it too early to say that.

Freida's sensuous love making scene

Slumdog Millionaire actress Frieda Pinto is all set to enact a love making scene which requires her to bare it all! The teaser of the film, Immortals, has already fired up everyone's imagination.

The teaser is quite sensous in nature and promises skinshow on the part of the actress. In fact in one scene, Freida goes backless.

Immortals is a film by Tarsem Singh and also stars Henry Cavill and Mickey Rourke. It is said to be adapted from the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur and the Titanomachy. Frieda Pinto stars as Phaedra, an oracle priestess who goes on the quest with Theseus. Henry Cavill plays Theseus.

Tarsem's directorial debut was with The Cell that starred Jennifer Lopez. He is acclaimed for the 2005 Pepsi commercial that saw the combination of gladiators with the song "We will rock you". Enrique, Britney Spears and Beyonce were part of that popular commercial.

Freida wears a tie with her dress

Those who were unaware of the quirky side of Freida Pinto got a chance see that at MET Ball event. The picture-perfect Indian actress walked the red carpet at the event in a dress that left many awestruck. Freida wore a sensuous Chanel white satin dress which also had a necktie.

Critics, bloggers, fashionistas took the internet by storm, but most of them loved Freida’s style sense and also her spirit to carry off a risqué gown. But what if she had decided to play safe and wore some boring evening gown. We would have not known that this dazzling lady can make a kitschy design look so wonderful.

Her fuller red lips and sideway hair-do can remind anyone of the vintage charm, the golden era of the delicate beauties, but then there is diamond-encrusted collar which is a part of the gown, and that long sleek black tie giving a strong impression that she is a modern-day woman who is self assured and confident. The chunky watch and the Dana Davis Primrose heels in black were just too perfect.

Indian designers have given Freida’s style statement thumbs up, but some of the top fashion bloggers feel that the dress was ‘horribly wrong’. India’s fashion blog High Heel Confidential writes that the dress was bit of a letdown, and ‘so anti-climatic’.

But these words of criticism have no effect on Freida’s fans and fashion lovers who think that she was just awesome at MET Ball held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and that she rocks in this dress.

What’s your take on Freida Pinto’s derring-do to wear a gown with necktie? Doesn’t she make a startling red carpet appearance and wow us all?

Ash, Sonam and Freida at the Cannes this year

She debuts at the film festival; but won't sashay down the red carpet on the same day as the Bachchan Bahu

The last time Sonam Kapoor was slated to walk on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, it mysteriously didn't materialise. It was reported that the regular-at-the-fest Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had demanded that the younger actress be left out, or she wouldn't attend. This year the Aisha girl is finally fulfilling her catwalk dream. This is the first time that Sonam will be at the French Riviera. However, she will not be walking alongside Ash. Both actress endorse the global face of a cosmetic brand, that gives them the opportunity to hobnob with top actors and filmmakers of the world at the film festival, that is less about cinema and more about glamour.

Aishwarya will be at the opening ceremony of Cannes on May 11, as well as the opening gala cocktail and dinner while attending various events on May 12. This the tenth consecutive time that she is walking the red carpet at the French Riviera. The ex-Ms World sent out a press statement through her publicist saying, "I'm glad India is finally getting the same recognition (as the West). I am happy that with Sonam and Freida (Pinto), both beautiful women, are invited to the festival this year, India will have a stronger presence, which is a clear sign of the growing importance of the country."

Sonam will walk the red carpet on May 15. She said, "It has always been my dream to walk the red carpet at Cannes and it is soon going to be a reality. I look forward to meeting actors and film makers from the world over and attending screenings of some interesting films." Chances are that Sonam's dad Anil Kapoor who is one of the best known Indian faces in Hollywood after Slumdog Millionaire and the television series 24, may also one of the big Indian draws at the red carpet in Cannes.

Freida will be present at the amFAR (The American Foundation for AIDS Research) dinner and after-party on May 19.

All credits to Freida says AR Rahman

Living his humility once again, Oscar winner A R Rahman in a candid admission credited his colleague from Danny Boyle's `Slum Dog Millionaire', Frieda Pinto for bagging him a plum assignment in Hollywood: Julian Schnabel's controversial film `Miral'.

In an industry plagued with insecurity and ingratitude, Rahman's admission comes as a fresh whiff of air. "It was sweet of Freida to recommend me to Julian Schnabel for Miral. I really mean it," he said and added further, "I was very keen to write something new for the film, but Julian insisted that I use `The Bombay Theme' track, and track from He Ping's `Warrior of Heaven and Earth'. He said no one's heard it there and it'll be loved by the audience there".

The story of an orphan (Pinto) growing up in the troubled border of Israel and Palestine has courted controversy from the beginning and the recent murder of its star Julian Mer-Khamis saw it grab headlines. A number of Jewish groups have asked for a ban on the film, including asking the UN not to show it at a planned screening.

However, Miral has found supporters in Hollywood superstars Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem. They called it unique and courageous glimpse into one woman's painful journey.

GQ Photoshoot was my choice, says Freida

In an interview with The Mail, the star of 'You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger', who appeared in the magazine last autumn, said that she firmly believes in positive female sexuality.

She said: "The decision to do those pictures was mine. I definitely knew how I wanted to look.

"A stylist may have chosen the clothes but the decision to wear them was mine.

"I would hate to feel that I was being objectified. I have always said that a woman's sexuality should not be used in a way that is demeaning to her.

"But, you know, I don't think this is a sexist issue anymore because actors are strutting their stuff in photoshoots just as much as actresses now."

Pinto recently revealed that her success in 'Slumdog Millionaire' gave her the chance to take a greater variety of film roles.

Freida will not work with Dev again

They met and fell for each other on the sets of their debut film 'Slumdog Millionaire' which went on to win eight Oscars, but Freida Pinto says that she and Dev Patel will never share the screen again.

The 26-year-old said that they will never be able to recreate the "magic" of the Mumbai-based potboiler, reported Daily Mail online.

"I wouldn't want to work with him, but I don't mean that in a bad way. He said something similar in an interview that was misinterpreted. What he was trying to say is that so much happened on Slumdog Millionaire, in terms of it becoming so big, that if the two of us were paired in a film as a couple again it wouldn't live up to that. Nothing ever could. It's too much magic to live up to on screen" said the 26-year-old.

The actress who is winning rave reviews for her role as a Palestinian orphan in the Julian Schabel film 'Miral' said that she and Patel, 6 years her junior, have already

Freida Pinto's steamy photoshoot

'Slumdog Millionaire' star Freida Pinto, who raised eyebrows last year ('10) with a series of racy shots for the U.S. version of GQ, is now defending the photoshoot.

Rumours suggested that the photoshoot for the men''''s magazine was a deliberate attempt to shake off her 'nice-girl' image, but Pinto has now spoken out to stress that she was not manipulated into taking part and it was entirely her decision to pose for the pictures.

"The decision to do those pictures was mine. I definitely knew how I wanted to look. A stylist may have chosen the clothes but the decision to wear them was mine. I would hate to feel that I was being objectified," the Daily Star quoted her as telling You magazine.

"I have always said that a woman's sexuality should not be used in a way that is demeaning to her. But, you know, I don't think this is a sexist issue any more because actors are strutting their stuff in

photoshoots just as much as actresses now," she added.

Remember Freida Pinto?

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto admits that she is a little overwhelmed by the speed with which she went from being a Mumbai-based model aspiring to be an actress to becoming the kind of celebrity who is pursued by the paparazzi and features on the cover of GQ.

“There is always this fear that your moment is here and that it will never come again. Being in the right place at the right time, and being cast as Latika, is the story of my life as well as that of Slumdog Millionaire,” the Daily Mail quoted her, as saying.

The younger of two daughters born into a privileged middle-class family, Pinto became a model after gaining a BA in English Literature from St Xavier’s College in Mumbai.

Determined to move from modelling to acting, she experienced more than her fair share of rejection, auditioning for ‘hundreds’ of roles before Danny Boyle cast her as Latika.

The rest is history.

The fact that the love story in the Slumdog was echoed in real life with a romance between Freida and British actor Dev Patel has added to their growing mutual celebrity.

Six years her junior, Patel’s post-Slumdog success might not have equalled that of his girlfriend, but the couple remain very much an item even if their working schedules make time together difficult.

“It’s about respecting each other’s work and respecting the relationship. We have to think, “OK, you are working there and I am working here but we are going to have to make time for each other.” We have the same attitude to our work. When I am filming I can’t be thinking about him, and when he is filming he can’t be thinking about me,’ said Pinto.

The relationship seems to be strong enough to withstand the long periods apart and any resentment or jealousies that might naturally arise when two people are working in the same industry.

There will not, however, be a sequel to Slumdog Millionaire, and no chance of the couple being cast together in the foreseeable future.

"I wouldn’t want to work with him, but I don’t mean that in a bad way. He said something similar in an interview that was misinterpreted. What he was trying to say is that so much happened on Slumdog Millionaire, in terms of it becoming so big, that if the two of us were paired in a film as a couple again it wouldn’t live up to that. Nothing ever could. It’s too much magic to live up to on screen,’ she said.