Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has played Indian characters in her international films like The Pink Panther and The Last Legion. Bipasha Basu too, plays an Indian in Singularity. However, Freida Pinto, who shot to fame with Slumdog Millionaire, has broken the mould and played a plethora of nationalities.

Her latest film, Desert Dancer, sees her playing an Iranian belly dancer.

Buzz is that whenever Freida is offered a role, she checks for its background as she doesn't want to be typecast in only Indian roles.

A source reveals, "There is a tendency in Hollywood to stereotype actors based on their nationalities. Even actresses like Michelle Rodriguez and Eva Mendes have mainly played Hispanic roles. Salma Hayek and Sofia Vergara are typecast as token buxom Latin women.

Freida was clear from the beginning that she didn't want to fall into this trap and asked her management to steer away from any material that would limit her ability to play different roles."

Freida has said earlier, "It's important to be proud of one's origins, especially when you're a foreign actress with ethnic features. At the same time, we must forget about stereotypes."

(TimesofIndia)