Kapoor scion’s co-star from Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar finally gives first press interview to fashion glossy months before her Bollywood debut, confesses acting’s been tough Half-Czech, half-Pakistani Nargis Fakhri is Bollywood’s best-kept secret. Ever since the New York-based model signed on for Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar, opposite Ranbir Kapoor, she has been barred from making public appearances or giving interviews.
Now breaking the silence in her first-ever interview to fashion glossy Vogue India, the debutante admits that entering the glamour industry was a natural choice for her. “I was 16 when I started modelling. It wasn’t planned, but nothing in my life has or ever will be planned,” she says to the magazine, adding, “I’ve never been a movie buff. If I did go to a theatre to watch a film, half the time, I would fall asleep. As a child, I did watch some Hindi movies at home with dad, but I didn’t know who anyone was. I wasn’t interested, honestly.”
Nargis admits that unlike other struggling starlets, she was pursued to play the female lead in Rockstar, which is scheduled to release on November 11 this year. Recalling her first tryst with director Ali, she says, “I wasn’t very keen to meet him, but because the appointment was fixed in Prague, my mother’s birthplace, I thought, ‘Why not?’ I would learn more about my mum’s culture, enjoy a good holiday and see where this meeting would take me,” she reveals.
Signing the film was easy for the young actor, as was learning a new language. “It took me just three months to pick up Hindi. I guess I’m a fast learner when it comes to languages,” she boasts. But the real challenge was acting in front of so many people on a set for the first time: “It was really tough. I was lucky Imtiaz took me under his wing.”
Despite the preparation, the debutante did have a few breakdowns on the film sets. She admits, “I remember one dance sequence we were doing. I’m a good dancer, but dancing in front of so many people, coupled with the yelling and everyone trying to match steps… It really got to me, and I started crying.” Nargis calls co-star Ranbir, to whom she has been romantically linked, “caring and supportive”, adding, “I was a bit apprehensive about working with him at first. I was afraid he would make me feel like I’m not good enough.” But she denies any real life romance, saying, “We are just friends. I’ve always been a tomboy. I prefer hanging out with the dudes as they’re always doing fun things!”
Does that mean she’s single? She responds in the affirmative, adding that family is very important to her since she comes from a broken home. “One day, I’ll have many kids — maybe even adopt, if I don’t get married.”
