I did not give up on Bollywood: Nargis Fakhri

Nargis  Fakhri Tells Subhash K Jha  About Her Plans To  Return To Bollywood

You  seem  to have  given   up  on  Bollywood. Would that be a correct assumption?

I did not give up on Bollywood. I was actually extremely ill but that is a story I don’t feel like sharing. After my illness was dealt with I also encountered another unfortunate situation that caused me to not be able to come back to Bollywood. I also do not want to talk about that. Maybe one day I will. I really miss   India a lot. I missed acting and I miss the people who are my friends in India. Unfortunately sometimes life has other plans.

I remember  how uncomfortable you were  with the dancing  and  with the way  actresses are expected  to suck up to  leading men  to be in  their good books.Would you  say these are the  factors  made you  recoil  from the  Hindi  film industry?

These factors of having to pander to the male ego is international so, no it did not cause me to recoil or leave Bollywood. Although this is not true for all people in the industry. I have met and worked with some wonderful people and really appreciate them. I love the dancing in Bollywood, I actually love to dance. At that time I was just unfamiliar with the style and takes me a little longer to learn choreography.

Who would  you say are  your friends  in  Mumbai? Do you  plan to return any time  in the  near future?

I don’t have too many friends in Mumbai. But the few that I do , I really appreciate them and I  am grateful that they are my friends. I was actually planning to come back to India in April but then COVID happened and all plans changed. Since I am in good health and the other issues I had are solved, I feel I could totally come back and be apart of Hindi cinema again.

What are  your future plans?

As much as I enjoy acting, there are many things I love to do and I hope to find a balance to do both.

How seriously do  you take  the  digital platform? Are  you  going  to be any part  of it?

If you mean digital platforms like Netflix, Amazon and other streaming sites, yes, it’s a big part of the future.

With movie theatres closed  indefinitely would you  recommend  alternative  platforms/careers  for  movie actors?

People are still going to make shows and movies, it will just be online instead of theaters. So I don’t think an actor needs to change his/her career.

Finally , who is  that someone special in your life we all keep hearing about? Is this for keeps?

Not sure whom you are hearing about. I am single and hoping to meet a good man to settle down with. Any recommendations ? (laughs).