On a Date with Nargis Fakhri: Part 1

This is a picture perfect slideshow any journalist in the world would hanker after. By the end of it (and I won’t be surprised) ‘Devansh Patel’ will be the envy of all men. Why? Well, I have the stunning Nargis Fakhri in my arm, that’s why. For the past decade, Read More">India has been looking forRead More

This is a picture perfect slideshow any journalist in the world would hanker after. By the end of it (and I won't be surprised) 'Devansh Patel' will be the envy of all men. Why? Well, I have the stunning Nargis Fakhri in my arm, that's why. For the past decade, India has been looking for its own Nargis Fakhri but every candidate has been flawed, till Imtiaz Ali spotted the diamond that deserved a shine. And like so many men who'd queue up to get their hands on the diamond, I'm happy to say that I was the lucky one standing first. As I enter the huge en suite room holding the almost 5 feet tall surprise I'd got for Fakhri, she screams. I am hiding my face behind the glossy red wrap till she delivers, "Ok! You can put that down". I obey and I see her face for the first time. She looks so unpretentious and easygoing; it gets to the point where I almost forget she's Nargis Fakhri, until she kneels down, looks at her present from top to toe, gets her two hands in action and unwraps it passionately. Did I just say 'easygoing'? Wait, there's more! She unties the white ribbon and like any hippie would, makes a head band out of it as she tries on her new skirt: courtesy the red glossy wrapping paper. One look at her and you can certainly conclude that God must've made her while doing some mischief.

She switches immediately and finds me a cosy corner for our much awaited date chat. I pick up the golden present and place it right where she is seated in her black knee length dress that's whispering in my ears, 'You can't get any closer than this'. Sitting opposite one of the world's most notorious beauties is an experience that requires some processing. Impressions: She has a seriously filthy laugh; she is graceful and straight-backed with head held high and her photogenic beauty is mesmerizing in real life. Which is quite disturbing because it makes you 'gaze' and 'gaze'. But over the many 'dates' I've come to know that women who can hypnotize men just by sitting and breathing have a spooky power. Now I'm at an arm's length away from her and can't help but look right in her eyes. It's evident that she has fine genes and good bones and is considerably more beautiful in flesh than in pictures and in her late twenties, she looks brazen yet girlish, sexy yet sweet, with an almost puppyish enthusiasm. A bombshell of a girl, I would say, Nargis Fakhri is like a tall, frosty glass of milk - but when you take a sip, you realize that the milk has bourbon in it (Milk Punch, as it is known, is a deliciously sweet brunch beverage that you can consume gallons of before you realize you're intoxicated). And the Nargis Fakhri hangover continues...

UK's Harrow Observer columnist and Bollywood Hungama's London correspondent brings you 'On a Date with' the poised, polished, utterly composed and notoriously naughty Nargis Fakhri in this Part 1 exclusive.

Devansh Patel: It took me a lot of time to figure out what gift to buy for you. So here I was looking at some dozen candle stands till my eyes spotted this poor tall one standing all alone.

Nargis Fakhri: Poor thing? But hey, if my house sets on fire, it's all going to be your fault.

DP: Oh don’t you worry about that. I’ll get you the insurance beforehand. But you moving your house? NF: Yes, I am and how did you know that I was moving? I mean, Read More">still in Bandra but moving into a bigger house. DP: Are you aware that Bandra is where the Naughty Bandra Boys live?Read More

DP: Oh don't you worry about that. I'll get you the insurance beforehand. But you moving your house?

NF: Yes, I am and how did you know that I was moving? I mean, still in Bandra but moving into a bigger house.

DP: Are you aware that Bandra is where the Naughty Bandra Boys live?

NF: Naughty Bandra Boys? Are they? And who are they?

DP: Ranbir, John, Dino, Arjun…

NF: (laughs).

(As we chat Nargis orders her water and coffee with milk and 'cheeni' on the side)

DP: I'll have black coffee no sugar please.

DP: Nargis Fakhri is here...in flesh. It's drool time! Do you know all your twitter fans are drooling too? They love you. By the way, did you have your 'chai' in the morning?

NF: I know! I didn't have 'chai' because I woke up late. I am always waking up late now. They've got me working so hard. Guess it's the hangover of the promotions for Rockstar. Can you imagine running from one place to another and doing it a million times in a week? I am not running, I'm flying. From London to Dubai to God knows where!?

DP: But you've been a professional commercial model so you should've seen what was coming your way. The price one pays to become a star.

NF: Yea, I was so prepared!!!! No!

DP: You're doing a god damn movie. You need to prepare.

NF: Yea I know!!!!!

DP: Yea, you better know.

NF: Yea I know!!!! (Laughs). But how do I prepare?

DP: Even Meryl Streep prepared herself before becoming Meryl Streep.

NF: Ah! You're right on that. I guess it's the transitioning and the adjusting. It's like an every new job; whether it's your new co-workers or the space you're put into. But this is extreme. I feel like I was put in the washing machine and they pressed 'spin'.

DP: So, Read More">what’ve you been hearing about your debut movie ever since its release? NF: I know my friends in America are going bonkers over it. They loved it. One of my best friends saw it three times. My sister saw it three times and she said that she never knew there were so manyRead More

DP: So, what've you been hearing about your debut movie ever since its release?

NF: I know my friends in America are going bonkers over it. They loved it. One of my best friends saw it three times. My sister saw it three times and she said that she never knew there were so many Indians living in North Carolina, where she's from. She really was touched and all she saw was people blowing their noses.

DP: That's emotional!

NF: Yea, can you believe it? But how did you like the film?

DP: I thought it was strictly OK! I called it a 'Rockumentary'. It was more about a rebellious lover I felt. What did you think?

NF: It's my movie but I thought it was a little bit long for me. I felt that there should've been something extra in it. Little more drama I think. Is it weird in saying that?
DP: No it's not. What about the songs?

NF: Songs were phenomenal. I was hopping and popping around listening to all the songs. But to sum up Rockstar, I say it's poetic and beautiful. When people started asking me if it's the usual Bollywood movie, I was like - Dudes, it's somewhere in the middle somewhere. It's neither too Western nor too Indian. I am from New York City and I am used to Hollywood movies.

DP: And before you knew it, you were in India. NF: Yea! I was. But first I went to Copenhagen and thought whether I should go to India for a couple of months to brush up my Hindi as Imtiaz insisted. I was like, Read More">‘You know what? ‘F’ it! I’m just going to go.’ WeRead More

DP: And before you knew it, you were in India.

NF: Yea! I was. But first I went to Copenhagen and thought whether I should go to India for a couple of months to brush up my Hindi as Imtiaz insisted. I was like, 'You know what? 'F' it! I'm just going to go.' We only live once, right? If nothing came out of the movie, I was at least going to meet new people, learn new culture, a new language and who knows where or what else could happen and where the universe was going to take me?

DP: So you became a hippie and moved to India. Welcome to Bollywood Nargis!

NF: Yes, I was a hippie who finally packed her bags and moved to Bollywood.

Part 2 On a Date with Nargis Fakhri continues....

DP: And now you’re used to pollution, Read More">population and lot’s of cows on the streets. NF: (laughs) That was a very interesting thing when I first came here. I was like – Is there really a cow on the street? And there’s traffic on the streets because of the cow. DP: Imagine a cow caughtRead More

DP: And now you're used to pollution, population and lot's of cows on the streets.

NF: (laughs) That was a very interesting thing when I first came here. I was like - Is there really a cow on the street? And there's traffic on the streets because of the cow.

DP: Imagine a cow caught on your navigator while driving.

NF: Yea! We aren't going to take that street because there are cows there (laughs). Weird for me but not for you I suppose. Where are you from?

DP: Born and raised in Mumbai. Spent almost a decade in London writing and now I am here continuing my 'date'.

NF: Wow! That's awesome.

DP: But where were you spotted first? Make it short.

NF: Ok! I'll make it short. I was an international model. I've lived all over the world - New Zealand, Thailand, Hong Kong, London and everywhere you can think of. I received an email asking me to meet Imtiaz Ali for a lead role in his movie. I was confused back then. But we were emailing each other for the past two days. I guess the AD thought that I was living in India, courtesy my name Nargis. She presumed I was a Desi girl and I told her 'no', 'no', 'no'. But I refused to come to India as I was living at that time in Copenhagen.

DP: You refused?

NF: Yea! I wasn't going all the way to India to meet Imtiaz. No way. Not from Copenhagen. But while he was scouting in Prague, and since I was only an hour away from Prague, I thought I'd visit him. Also, my mother is from Prague. She's a Czech and I thought I'd visit her too. But before meeting him, I checked on Google whether he had created something legit. The next thing I knew was that I was in love with the movie. I tell my friends that I saw the movie even before it was made. I could feel it. I could see it in my narration with Imtiaz.