Will the real Freida Pinto please stand up? The actress, who broke out in 2008 with the feel-good Oscar-winning Bollywood-style mash-up Slumdog Millionaire, covers Vogue India's October issue, and gone is the pretty and prim persona her fans are familiar with. Looking the sexiest she's ever looked, Pinto instead seems to be trying on an edgier and more provocative identity.
In the arresting image for the magazine's 6th anniversary issue, the gorgeous Indian-born star, 28, wears a bustier bra and matching hot shorts under an open black blazer. Huge statement jewelry decorate her fingers, wrists and neck. Staring seductively into the camera (no trademark ear-to-ear grin here!), Pinto sports perfectly tousled locks and kohl-smudged eyes. The effect is altogether sultry — and a huge departure for the girl next door.
Pinto herself acknowledged the transformation. "October seems to be a month of surprises. Unleashing another part of me that’s confident, unapologetic and empowered!" she tweeted of the cover on Oct. 2.
And it seems that the makeover isn't just superficial. Inside the magazine, the actress, whose longterm boyfriend is her Slumdog costar Dev Patel, isn't afraid to speak her mind. Speaking of the many requests for her to dance to "Jai ho" (to reenact one of the beloved movie's most famous scenes), she said, "After one year of doing [it] on every live television show, you go 'Screw you! I'm not doing it one more time'."
She also opened up about her frustration with people who complain that she doesn't wear a sari on the red carpet. "I am Indian; I don't need to wear a sari to promote Indianness. A sari is not more Indian than my soul. I have no patience for people who are narrowminded…just be a global citizen and be proud of where you come from," she said.
