Bond girl Caterina Mourino was a picture of poise at the press conference, held recently in Bengaluru, of the just released, Fever . Though the film hasn’t received favourable reviews, and the fact that Caterina hardly has a role in it, she says she enjoyed acting in it. “I am one of his (Rajeev Khandelwal’s lovers).
“But at a certain point, I am not,” she replied when asked to elaborate on her role. “The director had said he wanted a Bond girl for his film. I spoke to the director’s wife, and I said yes!”
Caterina, who was born and raised in Sardinia, Italy, studied drama at the Scuola di Cinema e Teatro, and thereafter performed in several plays, including Richard III . Her eyes light up when she speaks about the influence of theatre in her life. “Theatre is my biggest love. Opera and theatre are important in Italy. When you sign a play you agree to a contract of two years. I still act in plays.”
Caterina’s claim to international fame was when she starred in Casino Royale (2006). “Bond is the only franchise that has a huge fan following in 55 years of cinema! It was a great experience. I promoted the movie all over the world!”
For Caterina, the world is her stage. She keeps herself updated on films across the world. “I have acted in various films. I wanted to act in a Bollywood film. Sadly, we don’t have enough Hindi films in Europe and there’s a lot of Hollywood here, but not too many films from Europe. I have seen Bollywood actors are worshipped like God here!”
The first Hindi film she watched was Jodhaa Akbar . “A friend of mine had given me a DVD of it. I then watched Devdas .” Even though Fever is her first Hindi film, she laments that it was shot in Switzerland instead of India. “The director thought the storyline fitted Switzerland. But I would have loved to see more of India. I have been travelling like crazy to promote Fever . I have been to New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru. But these have been one-day stops. I have only seen Dharavi in Mumbai, and India Gate in New Delhi. I wish I could have seen much more.”
As a young girl, Caterina wanted to become a doctor. But she truthfully says this wasn’t possible because she faced a number of failures. “Had I been a doctor, I wouldn’t have discovered so much the world has to offer!”
Ask her the one quality she is proud of and Caterina says: “I’m extremely organised. I manage eight agents across the world. Despite that I first handle things on my own. My mind is like a computer. I have colour codes for which day of the month things need to get done,” after a long pause she laughs and says, “I manage my life like a US President!” She also likes to plan ahead for her roles. “I have an acting coach who helps me prepare for my roles.”
