Manasvi Mamgai meets Pope Leo XIV and Al Pacino in Rome ahead of Captivated’s shoot

Former Miss India and rising Hollywood producer Manasvi Mamgai made headlines this week after she was granted a private audience with the newly appointed Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. Also present was Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino, who, with this meeting, became the first Hollywood star to be formally received by the American-born pontiff.

Manasvi Mamgai and Al Pacino meet Pope Leo XIV ahead of Rome film shoot

The extraordinary meeting marks a symbolic beginning for Captivated, an upcoming international feature that will begin filming shortly in Rome. The high-stakes crime thriller stars Al Pacino and Katie Holmes and is being produced by Manasvi under her banner 32RED Entertainment, alongside a global team that includes Chris K. Daniels (Cinelaunch), Andrea Bucko (Sugar Rush Pictures), Michael Mammoliti, Keith Kjarval, Cassian Elwes, and Italian producer Andrea Iervolino. Manasvi, who has successfully transitioned from pageantry to the film industry, expressed her awe at the moment: “Meeting His Holiness was truly surreal. As an Indian-origin producer, standing alongside Al Pacino in Vatican City was a moment I’ll never forget. Receiving a blessing before starting this film felt like a divine sign.”

Captivated is directed by Dito Montiel (Riff Raff) and follows the true story of a notorious 1973 kidnapping involving the Calabrian mafia. The plot centres around Saro, a mafia boss who abducts the grandson of billionaire Jean Paul Getty. But as negotiations drag on, Saro develops an unexpected emotional connection with the boy’s mother, Abigail Harris—played by Holmes—a relationship that threatens to upend his tightly controlled criminal empire.

The meeting between the Pope, Mamgai, Pacino, and Iervolino also holds historical weight, being the first documented interaction of its kind between a pontiff and a film cast at the Vatican. It signals a unique fusion of faith, fame and film. With shooting scheduled to begin in the Eternal City, Captivated is already drawing global attention—not just for its gripping storyline, but for its cinematic blessing at the highest spiritual level.

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