Her steamy next is being translated into eight Indian languages, apparently without the actress' knowledge but she doesn't mind

Buzz is that without her knowledge, Freida Pinto's next film that is supposed to be the steamiest adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles is being translated into eight Indian languages.

The film that will release early next year is said to portray her in her most challenging role ever. Based on Hardy's timeless tragic heroine Tess, the film Trishna is being made by British auteur director Michael Winterbottom.

The film's co-producer Sunil Bohra admits that Freida is absolutely unaware of the latest development. He says, "I am dubbing Trishna in eight Indian languages...Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Bhojpuri, Punjabi and Kannada.

I'm the co-producer and distributor of the film and I've every right. I am not commenting on the sex content (in the film). Let people speculate on it."

Shot in Rajasthan, the new adaptation has Freida playing a local girl in a lustful lingering liaison. Her co-star Riz Ahmed (who is currently shooting Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist in Delhi) plays a British NRI who comes to Jodhpur to revive his father's business.

Freida, however, plays it cool. She says, "Wow! It feels great to be dubbed in so many languages. I would have loved to dub them all. I did learn the basics of Marwari and that was a good adventure." She adds, "I've always wanted to be a part of cinema that reaches a wider audience."

Bollywood connect

There have been many versions of Tess of the d'Urbervilles adapted to the screen including Rajeev Kapoor's Prem Granth in Hindi where Madhuri Dixit played the long-suffering woman.