Freida Pinto

In Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Freida Pinto’s older Latika matters enormously to Jamal, but gets little room for a life of her own. Pinto makes her appealing enough for us to want that life filled in. We were frustrated by how little we got to know her, because our interest in Latika extended beyond whether the romance would work out. Danny Boyle’s quick, warm film allows coincidences to do too much of the work that might have been left to its characters. We would have welcomed a slower stretch that gave Latika more to do.

That difficulty in separating the actor from the limitations of the part recurs in Pinto’s early work. Supporting roles followed in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Immortals (2011). Repeated casting as love interests and women accompanying someone else’s story left little room to establish what else she might do. We would be wary of calling that evidence of limited ability when the parts themselves offered so few opportunities.

Michael Winterbottom’s Trishna (2011) gave her the title role and a more substantial dramatic part, so those early years were never entirely confined to supporting turns. After typecasting and reduced offers, she began focusing on producing around 2012. Later choices include Rashmi, a sex worker in Love Sonia (2018), and Selina Dalton in the Regency romance Mr. Malcolm’s List (2022), which she produced through Freebird. We welcome the search for fuller characters, without treating the size or seriousness of a role as proof of a better performance.

Our view remains qualified by Slumdog Millionaire: Pinto is appealing, but Dev Patel does more than the writing to convince us of Latika’s importance. We cannot credit her with everything the romance achieves, any more than we should blame her for everything it leaves out. What stays with us is the wish to spend longer with Latika outside Jamal’s hopes for her. We would start with Boyle’s film, then look to the parts Pinto has had a hand in choosing.