She first hit the silver screen with the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire in 2008. Since then, talks have been rife about Mumbai girl Freida Pinto’s Bollywood debut. Five years later comes the news that she is all set for B-town with Navdeep Singh’s (he directed Manorama Six Feet Under; 2007) next, titled NH10. What’s interesting is that Freida’s co-star will be Raj Kumar Yadav, who is currently making waves with his performance in Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che.

Touted to be a thriller involving a road trip, the film will apparently see Freida in the role of a female detective. “NH10 stands for National Highway No 10. It will be produced by the same production house, Phantom, that’s also producing Queen, starring Kangana Ranaut and Rajkumar,” says a trade insider. The film is likely to be shot in and around Delhi during an extended schedule.

Although other details are yet to emerge, NH10 will probably go on the floors by mid-2013 and should release early next year. At present, Rajkumar is looking forward to the release of his next, Shahid, directed by Hansal Mehta. Meanwhile, Freida is wrapping up the Christian Bale-starrer Knight Of Cups.

Earlier, Freida’s closest Bollywood connection was the 2011 film, Trishna, produced by Anurag Kashyap and Sunil Bohra. “Freida was interested in Bollywood but she was waiting for the right project. Now, things have fallen into place. Also, she isn’t hung up about starring opposite big stars only. She is fine with working with new actors in indie projects,” adds the insider. Navdeep couldn’t be reached for a comment, but Rajkumar confirms the news.

Freida’s B-Town speak
August 2010: “I have done no film in India, so it is very hard for people to accept me as an actress.”
November 2010: “Mindless cinema is not my cup of tea.”
December 2011: “I would very much like to work not only in Bollywood, but also any Indian cinema, but only if the script is good.”
May 2012: “I’ve told Anurag (Kashyap) to write something interesting for me.”