TIFF 2011 Coverage: ‘Trishna’ Video Interview

Yes, there actually is more to report from this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Freida Pinto was interviewed by BBC about how the original book Tess of the d’Urbervilles translated to today’s India, the graphic sex scenes of the movie and how Dev Patel received the movie. Be sure to watch the lovely interview below!

Also, I have added a photo of a beautiful Freida backstage at the press screening, held Saturday during TIFF, to the gallery. See it here!

TIFF 2011 Coverage: First ‘Trishna’ Reviews

Trishna had its world premiere on Friday during the Toronto International Film Festival – and the first three five nine reviews are in! They’re mixed to positive, praising the cinematography and raw emotions of the main characters (Freida Pinto and Riz Ahmed), but a bit skeptical about the fact that they didn’t have a script. Read a few quotes about Freida and the movie below, click on the links to read the full reviews. As more reviews start coming in, I’ll be sure to post them as well.

Also, follow us on Twitter for more reactions and updates regarding Trishna!

“…Winterbottom has also been extremely astute in his casting. Frieda Pinto has all the pouting beauty that Trishna requires as well as the awkwardness and vulnerability. Riz Ahmed is a revelation, showing bags of romantic leading man ability in a performance of immense charm and edge. He is such a sexy, appealing figure that he almost makes us too attached to Jay. When Jay turns increasingly controlling and cruel, it feels as much a betrayal of the audience as it does of Trishna’s wholehearted belief in him.”

Allan Hunter, Screen Daily

“Eclectic director Michael Winterbottom brought raw power to a Thomas Hardy adaptation once before, with Jude in 1996. In Trishna, he updates Tess of the d’Urbervilles to contemporary Rajasthan, India, delivering more emotionally muted yet arresting results, with Freida Pinto instilling fragile dignity into Hardy’s tragic heroine.”

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

Culture deals a cruel hand to females in India, placing them and their future at the whim and mercy of the men in their lives, whether a father, an employer or a lover. I felt a sense of anger and defiance watching this, but Winterbottom so successfully conveyed this strange and different lifestyle that I found it believable to witness Trishna’s series of unwittingly short-sighted decisions. We root for her, but deep inside feel there is no escaping the life of woe and deceit she finds herself in.

Even though I enjoyed this film, there were a couple of weak areas.

First, the director opted to have the actors create much of their own dialogue and I felt the absence of a hard and fast script was rather apparent. The two lead characters lacked depth and fullness, mainly because the words weren’t there to give us the nuances needed to know who they were. Although as Ms. Pinto stated, it was a wonderful challenge for her as an actor – unfortunately it was her gain and the audiences’ loss.

wxgirl55, IMDb User

“Trishna is Winterbottom’s take on Tess of the d’Urbervilles, filmed previously by Roman Polanski in Tess, an epic, slow but hypnotic period movie. Winterbottom’s version is shorter, set very much in the present, and diverts from Hardy’s text in many ways, but is just as compelling.

Like Polanski’s Tess, Winterbottom’s heroine is rather passive, a woman who lets things happen to her, and for many, the gorgeous but woefully reactive Trishna will be frustratingly meek. Likewise, Ahmed’s Jay, a nice guy who transforms somewhere along the way into a boorish bully, will be a test of an audience’s sympathy.

But for those prepared to take the journey, the film is a seductive, allegorical study of male-female relationships that says more about what its characters are than who they are.”

Damon Wise, The Guardian

“There isn’t any doubt that Trishna will capture a lot of attention at the next Academy Awards. It has all the makings of an Oscar contender: an outstanding leading lady, great direction, an impressive adapted screenplay, excellent cinematography and colourful costume design.”

David Rooney, Toronto Verve

“With “Trishna,” Michael Winterbottom happens upon an inspired alternative, relocating “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” to contempo India, where the Victorian attitudes of Thomas Hardy’s romantic tragedy still echo in a meaningful way today. Starring an incandescent Freida Pinto, “Trishna” acknowledges but doesn’t exactly embrace the Bollywood tradition, marrying Winterbottom’s naturalistic style with terrific songs by Amit Trivedi. Exotic result should attract extensive festival and specialty play.”

Peter Debruge, Variety

“When Freida Pinto walked the red carpet last week in Toronto at the premiere of Trishna, based on the Thomas Hardy classic (Tess of the D’Ubervilles) but set in Rajasthan and Bollywood, she made a bit of history. Of the five films she has acted in, four have been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in three years. Trishna is very significant as she owns it, plays the title role and has given her most well-rounded and captivating performance yet. It is also her most substantial role.

The dark and tragic story of a chaste woman from a poor family who is seduced by a rich man who gets to see her more as a commodity as the story progresses, the film, directed by Britain’s Michael Winterbottom is sensuous in its early scenes. But by the time it moves into its last quarter, it becomes a story of tortured sex and callous male attitude, leading to a brutal murder and a powerful but downbeat ending.”

Arthur J Pais, Rediff.com

“Pinto gives a lovely performance here. No other role she’s been given — as the hero’s dream woman in Slumdog Millionaire, or as a Palestinian orphan girl in Julian Schnabel’s deeply disappointing Miral — has asked as much of her, and she greets the challenge boldly. In the barest terms of the plot, Trishna is a victim, a tragic heroine, but Pinto always lets you see the character’s immovable self-assurance shimmering beneath the surface — that’s the very thing that threatens her lover and tormentor, and brings about her downfall.”

Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline

“His question reminded me that I feel part of this story too — that I am a modern, western woman who travels in India; who has spent time in Rajasthan and Bombay; who has had relationships in India; and who has experienced the changing Indian society depicted in the film, though to a lesser degree — and thankfully to a much less tragic end!

In other words, the film rings true, despite its tragic and melodramatic story arc. And the excellence of the production adds to that truth — especially Freida Pinto’s acting. She is luminous. Her vulnerability is raw, and rare, and very moving.“

Mariellen, Breathe Dream Go

TIFF 2011 Coverage: Second Batch of ‘Trishna’ Portraits

…and the Toronto International Film Festival coverage continues! This time I bring you pictures from the second portrait session for Trishna. Freida looks gorgeous in red in the photoshoot, which you can see a preview from below. Click on it to see the photos, all in HQ.

Also, the first review from the movie is in – and it’s very positive! Here’s what Screen Daily said about Freida’s performance as Trishna:

Frieda Pinto has all the pouting beauty that Trishna requires as well as the awkwardness and vulnerability.

Read the complete review here!

TIFF 2011 Coverage: ‘Trishna’ Premiere and After Party

As mentioned before, the world premiere of Trishna was yesterday during the Toronto International Film Festival! Freida Pinto attended the event, looking absolutely smashing in Valentino, posing next to boyfriend Dev Patel and director Michael Winterbottom. After the premiere, the crowd continued to the premiere dinner and after party at the BlackBerry Inside Film Lounge at Brassaii restaurant.

I have added the first photos from both events to the gallery. Click on the previews below to see them all, as per usual. Stay tuned for more from this year’s Toronto International Film Festival!

Portraits from Toronto International Film Festival

The first photos of Freida Pinto at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival are in! She was photographed during a portrait session earlier today, looking stunning in red. The first pictures have been added to the gallery. Click on the preview below to see all of them. Also, the world premiere of Trishna is happening tonight. Stay tuned for coverage from that!

Photo of Freida Pinto Arriving at Toronto Airport

Yesterday, Freida Pinto and boyfriend Dev Patel were photographed arriving at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada. Freida is in town to attend the world premiere of Trishna later on tonight at the Toronto International Film Festival! Below is a picture of the couple at the airport.

Check back later for coverage from the Trishna premiere! Exciting!

Upcoming Film Festivals Update

As mentioned numerous times before, Freida Pinto will attend the world premiere of Trishna on Friday, September 9, during the Toronto International Film Festival. However, this isn’t the only film festival Freida will attend this year. Far from it, actually.

She’s scheduled to attend a screening of the same movie during the BFI London Film Festival, which runs from 12-27 October. It has also been announced that Black Gold – starring Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Riz Ahmed, Tahar Rahim and Mark Strong – is opening the Doha Tribeca Film Festival on October 25!

We will, of course, provide you with coverage from each and every one of these events as they unfold. If/when more upcoming festivals are announced, you can be sure to find them here at Freida Pinto Fan.

Scans from the October Issue of Flare

The October issue of Flare magazine hit newsstands yesterday, and here are the first scans from the issue! Freida Pinto looks absolutely mesmerizing in the new photoshoot (can she even take a bad picture?), and the interview is a nice, but short, read as well. Check out the scans by clicking on the previews below.

If you repost these elsewhere, please credit Freida Pinto Fan. Thanks!