Freida Pinto wishes Jane Fonda was her best friend.

Quizzed about which of her fellow L'OREAL Paris spokesmodels she is especially close to, Freida enthused: "Jane Fonda! I would love to be her best friend, you know, the kind of friend you can call up at 2am. She's so down-to-earth.

"I remember one day when she was suffering from back ache and was tired, so I volunteered to go and get her agent or manager. She told me that she was travelling alone and that the young female stars of today are way too spoiled."

Freida might never have appeared in a Bollywood movie, but credits her native Indian film industry for fuelling her love of cinema and desire to become an actress.

She recalled: "It happened progressively and of course, it began by watching Bollywood blockbusters. My dad showed my sister and I lots of films from the 80s. Then at university, I discovered the director Satyajit Ray's work.

"My sister started watching films by Wong Kar-wai at home. I was also following a history class where we watched 'Citizen Kane' by Orson Welles, Jean Renoir's films, Alfred Hitchcock ... it was magical."