Film Industry: I was offered to play Sonia Gandhi, but the script was not good enough

I was offered to play Sonia Gandhi, but the script was not good enough

French actress Monica Bellucci (Shoot ’Em Up, Passion Of The Christ and Malena) was a guest at the special tribute paid to Indian cinema at the 12th Marrakech International Film Festival that concluded recently. In an interview, she talks about Indian cinema, repression of women and how motherhood has changed her. Excerpts:
Weren’t you offered Sonia Gandhi’s role in an Indian film? Yes, but the script was not good. If the offer is good enough, I would love to play Sonia Gandhi.
Why do you choose tragic roles? There is a lot of drama inside me. I feel comfortable playing a dramatic role as the character touches my inner spirit. There is no tragedy in my background. I had great parents and they loved me immensely.
Has motherhood changed you? Yes, it has taught me to be selfless with my kids. It has changed my ambition. My choices now depend on my emotional life and not the opposite. When will we see you and your husband (actor Vincent Cassel) together on screen again? We take turns to look after our kids. We plan our shootings in such a manner that when he is shooting, I stay at home and vice-versa. But we have a script on which we are working at present. Let’s see.
Was it difficult to play an Iranian in Rhino Season? People wonder how it’s possible for a European woman, who has the freedom to do everything she wants, to play a repressed woman like that. The fact is that I can understand her even though she’s so far away from the world I know. I come from a country, Italy, where until 60 years ago — which is nothing — a woman could get killed by her husband, and he would not be imprisoned as it was considered a crime of passion.
When will we see you in an Indian film? For that, I have to speak Hindi. I love Indian cinema. My favourite Hindi film is Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen.