Pinto: Trishna was demanding for me

Freida Pinto has admitted that Trishna was her most challenging part ever.

The Slumdog Millionaire actress took the lead role opposite Riz Ahmed in Michael Winterbottom's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel Tess Of The D'Urbervilles.

"It has been by far my biggest and most demanding role and I couldn't have enjoyed it more," she said.

Freida, who is dating her Slumdog co-star Dev Patel, also revealed she had to restrain her personality for the big screen.

"The biggest challenge was adopting Trishna's passivity which is not necessarily her strength or weakness, it is both," she recalled.

"Many times Michael had to remind me during certain scenes not to respond and join in every conversation but rather be the observer and absorber. That's very difficult for a chatty girl like me who is always ready with a response!"

The 27-year-old had to pick up some new skills, such as dancing and milking cows, to play Trishna.

"I accompanied one of the crew members on a recce a month before we started filming to get a better sense of the culture I was going to dive into. It's obviously not enough to just be an Indian to play this character," she joked.

"I learnt to speak a bit of Marvadi and of course learning the traditional Rajasthani dance moves was fun. Can milking cows and goats also be considered a skill? I think yes!"

Trishna is released by Artificial Eye on DVD and Blu-ray on July 9.