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 that made you recoil from the Hindi film industry?

These factors of having to pander to the male ego are 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 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).