Italian actress in Indian music video wants to break cultural barriers

By Kishori Sud

New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) Italian actress Madalina Bellariu Ion has worked in the American TV show "The Young Pope" with actor Jude Law, featured in Hindi film "Dobaara: See Your Evil" and can now be seen in musician Arko Pravo Mukherjee's music video "Aainda".

Madalina says she wants to break cultural barriers and not restrict herself to only Italian cinema or shows, and wants to try her hand at work coming in from any country, provided it's a good script or story.

"To be honest, it all depends on the scripts I receive. I want my name to be associated only with good stories, good films and I want to break cultural barriers. So, I will keep doing films in Hollywood as well as Bollywood, in Italy and other countries," Madalina told IANS in an email interview.

She says that, all over the world, "Bollywood films are still associated with great choreography and emotional songs".

"Satyajit Ray's films are globally celebrated. A.R. Rahman won the Academy Awards. Rajinikanth is famous in Japan... Salman Khan, Aamir Khan are all globally known stars," Madalina said while talking of her knowledge of Indian stars.

Asked why she chose to feature in an Indian music video, the actress pointed out that the language of a song does not matter, as "people love songs without understanding them".

"A Hindi song can become famous all over the globe because people get a feeling from listening to it even if they don't know the meaning of those lyrics... And the newest trend is 'Despacito', sung by a Puerto Rican, in Spanish," she said.

Madalina said she judges a project by a director's previous work and is currently looking at scripts for Hindi cinema.

"The only thing to convince me to get on board for a project is the script and then the director's previous work. I am currently looking at a few scripts coming from Bollywood. So, maybe my next big film will be from Bollywood! I can't reveal much at the moment but my manager is looking into this," said the actress, who played the lead in Hollywood film "Oculus".

While there has been talk of nepotism in the Hindi film industry, Madalina too has faced such issues in her part of the globe; but, she added, what counts eventually is talent.

"I am not looking for just any work, because that might seem easier... I am only looking to work with talented people, and in the UK, even getting seen for an audition might be difficult, unless you are a really good actor," the 26-year-old said.

However, the actress, who is also active in theatre, says the TV show with Jude Law is what made her life easier and gained her some attention.

"After working with Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino for 'The Young Pope' -- with Jude Law -- things became easier for me. I got contacted by management companies in the US and I am looking at scripts which involve A-list actors," Madalina added.

She has worked in plays like "Bella Storia", "Anna siMicul Print" and "Fotbalistul de aur" to name a few since 2009 and entered showbiz and cinema in 2014 with a short film titled "Unreliable".

Comparing the impact of the three different mediums of entertainment, Madalina says TV and films will always have a wider reach but actors have a special "soul" connection with the stage.

"Theatre always remains close to an actor's heart because... performing on stage is a process an actor enjoys much more. Although, in the past five years I have been focussing more on TV and films, theatre is something I will always love to revisit," she said.

"As far as impact goes, definitely TV and films have bigger reach -- more viewers. But the bigger impact in their soul will always remain the stage," she added.

(Kishori Sud can be contacted at kishori.s@ians.in)