After bowling over Woody Allen, Freida Pinto will now star in acclaimed director Julian Schnabel’s next film set in Jerusalem.
Film-maker Julian Schnabel, who was nominated for an Oscar for his acclaimed directorial venture The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, has cast Freida Pinto to star as the lead of his forthcoming film Miral.
It’s based on the book written by Rula Jebreal, who’s rumoured to be his current girlfriend. But what’s most interesting about this development is the striking facial similarity between Rula and Freida.
Julian, who has also directed movies like Before Night Falls and Berlin, apparently approached Freida as soon as her debut film Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire released in the US. Freida certainly seems to be riding high as she will also be doing a film with Woody Allen.
Julian’s movie will narrate the story of a character named Hind Husseini and chronicle the protagonist’s effort to set up an orphanage in Jerusalem after Palestine was partitioned in 1948 and Israel was created. Freida is currently in Jerusalem to research for her character and get acclimatised with the locales with Julian and Rula.
A source close to the film tipped us about the development, “Freida was contacted by the film-maker before the Oscars happened and she was really excited. They had a couple of formal meetings and she landed the role in Julian’s movie. Freida also noticed that Rula and she look very similar but when probed it was revealed that casting her was just a coincidence and not because she looked like someone.”
The insider adds, “The film is expected to release in 2010. It is based on Rula’s book The Road of Flowers Miral which was published in 2004. Miral, interestingly, is the name of Rula’s daughter and Freida is supposed to play the lead. The book is said to be based on her real life experiences of growing up in Jerusalem.”
Since Freida is out of the country, she could not be contacted but her official spokesperson confirmed that she is indeed acting in Julian’s movie.
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