India is the nation of Appu, not Slumdogs: Sophia Loren

She admits in a long distance call from New York,“Hello, did you not speak to me about Ray and Mrinal Sen in May, 2008? How are you and how is the beautiful country, India? To me, India is the nationof Appu, not Slumdogs.” Loren explains, “No, I am not asexy mamma in Nine, my latest film. I am tired of being branded an eternal sexsymbol. Please, I am a woman first and I take pride in being so. It is strangethat my soul and works have been over shadowed by my image andappeal.” At 75, Sophia Loren still has the same command overhistrionics as she had during her salad days in Two Women, It Happened InNaples, El Cid and The Priest’s Wife. She analyses, “I never optedfor the Stanislavsky School Of Acting like Ingrid Bergman or the earlier MerylStreep. It binds an actress by meter and chord. Neither did I ever opt for theBrechtian or Royal Academy Of Dramatic Arts Schools. I always believe inspontaneity and in controlling myself naturally even before my director steps into do so. Had I been too method, I could not have performed the song number,Everybody Wants To Be Americano with the child artiste – I forget his name– in It Happened In Naples.”Sophia Loren opted for Nineas she was inspired by the musical essence of the film. “I love musicalsand so I opted for films like It Happened In Naples and House Boat, though thelater was not a full-fledged musical. I play my age in Nine with grace. The roleis that of a caring mother, which has a lot of emotions and reason mingledtogether. My character is neither all positive nor totally grey, simply humane.It was an electrifying experience to work with highly gifted actors like DanielDay Lewis, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz. I earlier watched DanielDay Lewis in My Left Foot and understood that he is an actor of the same calibreas Marlon Brando, Peter O’ Toole and Marcello Marstroni. I am glad thatthe film has received an overwhelming response in London and other parts ofEurope. Director Rob Marshall did make me remember earlier stalwarts like RobertMulligan and Francis Ford Coppola, who have an inborn sense of music, techniqueand performances. I want to work with him again.”Loren isinternationally renowned as a singer also. In fact, Greek singing icon NanaMuscouri is her ardent admirer. Sophia herself has not rendered any numbers inNine. She laughs at being reminded about her singing career, “You willremember, I recorded many musical albums and also one with Peter Sellers, afterwhich he was really after me. I must confess, I had to put in efforts to keepaway from his craze. It became a matter of harassment for me as I never had anyintentions of being involved with Sellars.”When asked abouther three personal favourites, she pauses for a while and smiles,“I’d say Two Women, Voyage and The Priest’s Wife. No,Sunflower, though a memorable one, does not come in the same league as theearlier ones. I still get goose pimples remembering Voyage. After the demise ofmy husband, Richard Burton’s younger brother, I start having a silentliking for Burton. In a scene where I sew his coat buttons, I have to looktowards Burton angularly. He simply overshadowed me and after the shot,Vittorio D’ Sica and the entire unit clapped in appreciation for tenminutes.”Sophia acknowledges, “Sir Charles Chaplintaught me how to say no to unwanted films and where to stop. After myforthcoming film Femina, which is still in the pre-production stages, I want tocall it a day. I may change my mind if I only receive a very special script anda director like Sir Alan Parker or Steven Spielberg.”Follow us on Twitter for more stories