Don’t mind bold scenes: Freida Pinto

Though a body double was used in Immortals, Freida Pinto, who plays a woman in rural India whose life is destroyed by love and circumstances in Trishna, says she is comfortable with sultry sequences. She played the simple girl next door Latika in the 2008 Oscar winning-film Slumdog Millionaire.

Now, Freida Pinto is in the news for her Steamy and Explicit sex scenes in her last two films, Immortals and Trishna. And though a body double was used for her sex scene with Henry Cavill in Immortals, Freida says she has no issues with sultry sequences.

“I am comfortable with it, especially when I know that the director in questions has the experience, professionalism or the ability to shoot it tastefully or as I said in a non-offensive manner.

Both Michael Winterbottom, Trishna director and Tarsem Singh, Immortals director handled it well. And most of the time, directors discuss it with me, so I don’t have a problem,” she says with a smile.

Tell her that the Indian Censor Board cut a few scenes including the so called steamy one from Immortals and she says “Yes, The Scene was cut out. So unfortunately, no one saw it. Honestly, I have no say over what the Censor Board decides to do. But I think, more than anyone else, it affects producers and directors because it is their vision on screen.”

Interestingly, BBC America underlines the fact that many Bollywood actresses would probably have shunned the part in Trishna because some scenes consist elements of sexual degradation.

But Freida, on her part, is surprised by the censorship in India. “If a film has been shot tastefully and done in a non-offensive way, I don’t know why it needs to undergo censorship.

I understand we live in a very different cultural setting. But jump cuts make me laugh because I know that visibly, something is hidden from audiences.

And if you don’t show it to them in theatres, they are going to find ways and means to find it anyway. How much can you run away from it?” says Freida, who counts Deepa Mehta’s controversial film Fire (2006) as a favourite.

Trishna is the story of a young woman from rural India (played by Freida), who is seranaded and then seduced by the son of a wealthy hotel owner, played by Riz Ahmed. Smitten, she becomes totally dependent on him and is the target of his abuse culminating in acts of sexual degradation.