"I have done no film in India so it is very hard for people to accept me as an actress. They don't really know who I am or they probably don't take me too seriously, " Pinto told New York Times in an interview.
While offers from Hollywood started pouring in for her post Slumdog..., the dusky beauty did not receive any direct offers from Mumbai.
"I haven't been directly approached to do a Bollywood film. After Slumdog Millionaire I was given scripts to read but was not directly approached. I don't think I fit the bill, " said the actress.
Pinto, who will next be seen in Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and with Spider-Man star James Franco on the sci-fi thriller The Rise Of Apes, feels that Hollywood has been more accepting than her home country.
"They definitely have accepted me much more willingly than in India. I am not famous in India. I don't get chased around, " she said.