Can`t wait to have wrinkles like Meryl Streep, Dench: Pinto

Panaji: Wondering why Hollywood is always obssessed with young look, India`s best export to West, actress Freida Pinto says she cannot wait to grow old.

The 27-year-old actress, who has starred in many international projects post her rise to fame with `Slumdog Millionaire`, says she wants her face to reflect the experience she would gain in her career.

"I don`t understand why everyone wants to look young. I can`t wait to grow older. I would love to have wrinkles like Meryl Streep, Judi Dench, Susan Sarandon, Helen Mirren because each wrinkle has its own story. I admire the amount of character their faces have now more than before.

"I know actresses are under the scanner and growing old is difficult for them. But it`s nice to age gracefully," Pinto told PTI in an interview.

And it`s not only the Hollywood actresses that she admires. Pinto is a huge fan of Shabana Azmi and would love to star in the films she did in the eighties.

"I auditioned for Hindi films before Slumdog happened, but the kind of films I would have wanted to be a part of happened in the eighties. I grew up watching those films with my parents. Films which Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi used to do. Shabana`s work was out of this world," she said.

The actress was at the ongoing International Film Festival of India here with her latest film `Trishna`, which she says is her second Indian film.

"I always dream bigger than my appetite. I wanted to be a part of films that had an international repercussion and not impact only one region or area. But I couldn`t have asked for a better beginning than `Slumdog`."

Pinto`s dream to reach out to the world has come true, having already worked with filmmakers like Woody Allen and Tarsem Singh within first three years of her career.

"It`s the best learning school working with different directors like Woody Allen, Tarsem Singh. You gain so much as an actor."

Michael Winterbottom`s `Trishna`, based on Thomas Hardy`s `Tess of the d`Urbervilles` and `Miral` had Pinto playing major lead roles.

The Mumbai-born actress says she doesn`t buckle under pressure even if the entire film depends on her.

"I try not to think of pressure when I am working on a film. In case of `Trishna`, the only pressure came from the fact that Tess is a very famous novel and everybody knows the book. The best think about working with directors like Michael are that you are so involved in the project that while filming you are transported into a different world," said Pinto.

Nevertheless, the actress says she had a tough time playing a village girl stuck between tradition and modernity in `Trishna` as she did not identify with the role of a silent sufferer.

"I have always taken my own decisions and have had an education which has propelled me to go wherever I want to. So I don`t identify with her character but I can definitely empathize with her. It is very challenging to play a character which is opposite to you, but that is what actors really want, do play different roles. I am not a silent sufferer. To portray Trishna as the silent sufferer was the biggest challenge for me."