Nargis Fakhri had just finished her 35 minutes of light jogging on a treadmill and warned us that she may be a “bit hyper with all those happy hormones kicking in”. But, we were not complaining. How often do you meet an actress who features regularly in a country’s sexiest women polls, but is charmingly goofy and down-to-earth? The former model hadn’t bothered to change from her vibrant yellow and black gym gear (“these pants are magical at sucking in my unwanted bits,” she whispered) and her face was scrubbed clean of make-up with her hair scraped back (“oops, I don’t think I even washed my face properly this morning”) when we met her at her suite in a hotel in Downtown Dubai.
Our first thought: it certainly calls for confidence to sit there swigging the fruity health drink 2B, the launch of which brought her to Dubai on Thursday, and discuss fitness, body image issues and ageing. So what does it take to look like Fakhri?
“It’s a lot of work,” she said, before breaking out into a grin and recounting the good stuff on her breakfast plate that morning. She fished out her phone and pointed to a picture of a heap of waffles and pancakes dipped in maple syrup posted on her Instagram. So did she eat them all?
“I ate a piece of everything ... my eyes wanted them so badly but my body didn’t. So I just listened to my body.”
The 34-year-old Bollywood actress, who made her debut with Rockstar where she was cast opposite Ranbir Kapoor, was disarmingly honest about how tough it was to make that choice. “We are more insecure than regular people because our job is to look our best. Everyone pokes at us. I call this a ‘we are never good enough job’,” said Fakhri. She has a point. In 2011, when Rockstar released, the critics and majority of viewers ripped her apart and pronounced her as this beautiful ornament with questionable talent. She’s making steady progress with film such as Madras Cafe and Main Tera Hero.
“One day, I will tell my story ... where I came from and where I am now and how I remained positive. You need to train your brain to be positive. I keep a diary. You go through so much s***, it’s tough,” she said. Born to a Czech mother and a Pakistani father, Fakhri grew up in New York and has worked her way up in the entertainment industry by starting off as a model. But she’s glad those gruelling days are behind her.
“I don’t have to be a size zero anymore. But I still want to feel and look good.” She had just returned from a detox programme at an undisclosed destination. She even gave up coffee, a beverage she thought she could never do without. The first few days were spent battling withdrawal symptoms such as body aches and chills.
“I was eating only raw food. They served me this dish which looked like it was made of rice, but actually it was made of cauliflower. Then, I had seaweed salads with citrus dressing ... it tasted good and I felt great.” But she doesn’t stop at just nourishing her body.
“I have this board in my house that lists out all the things that I love about myself. It’s a board of affirmations and it serves me well.” While she knows being objectified is a part of her profession, she admits that it’s impossible to get used to the relentless scrutiny.
“It’s so hard, horrible and it affects your self-esteem. Your body is your private thing and they are showing your flaws to the world. It’s so embarrassing ... so imagine you forgot to shave your underarm and you raised your hand at a press conference. The next thing you know, somebody has circled your armpits with an arrow going: ‘look at that’,” said Fakhri, animatedly scrunching up her face.
But this is one of the many battles that she has learnt to face. Unlike other Bollywood actresses, she doesn’t gloss over harsh realities and cheerfully says things that most would keep to themselves.
“The truth is I don’t have any friends there [in Mumbai] and I am lonely. So I meditate, I learnt how to play guitar ... I do all that. No one has time in Bollywood to make friends. I am a loyal human being and friendships mean a lot to me. If it’s not a two-way street, then it’s not worth it.” Right now, she’s investing all her time and energy into her next project, details of which doesn’t want to reveal because she fears she will jinx it (our money is that she’s working on her big Hollywood project with Jude Law in a film called Spy). She may be tight-lipped about her work, but when it comes to fitness tips, she’s more than happy to dish out the secrets about her exercise regime.
‘ABS ARE MADE IN THE KITCHEN’
I believe that you are 70 per cent of what you eat and just 30 per cent of what you do in the gym. Even for someone such as me with a high metabolism rate, if I start junking out and eating pancakes, chips and chocolates, it won’t bode well. But I don’t like to deny myself anything. I believe in eating clean and eliminating process foods. For instance, if I eat two boiled eggs in the morning, then two hours later you will see me eating steamed or boiled broccoli and carrots. Be meticulous with what you put in your mouth.
‘LEARN TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY’
If you are craving for something sweet or spicy, don’t deny your body that because at some level your body is craving for those nutrients. And if you are eating food that is weighing you down, it’s your cue to realise that you are putting wrong things in your mouth. So tell yourself to get back on that fitness horse. If you indulge in something sinful, then spend extra 15 minutes on the treadmill. I love reading on the internet about superfoods and the other health foods and trends. If you go through my bag, you will find vitamin supplements, omega-3 and turmeric pills.
‘YOGA AND ZUMBA WORK FOR ME’
I do the slow yoga or hatha yoga. Some call it the old people’s yoga but it works wonders for me. It’s slow and is about controlling your breath. The breath of fire technique that calls for breath control is intense. You are just breathing, but you start sweating and burn a lot of calories. I love to mix things up. An hour of Zumba or 45 minutes on the treadmill works wonderfully for me. I don’t have trainers or fitness experts at my disposal, all I do is put on a Zumba DVD and start dancing. You can take them with you even if you are travelling and do it in your hotel room. So people, there’s no excuse for not working out.
‘DETOX IS A PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE’
Everyone should consider doing a detox or some form of cleansing twice in a year. It gets the body rid of your toxins. Recently, I checked my blood type and found out things that my body is tolerant to. During the test, I found out that my body had high levels of lead and arsenic. I immediately went on a detox because I wanted to draw out all the toxins from my system.
‘CRASH DIET IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA AND SAY WITH ME: EVERYTHING IN MODERATION’
When I was a model, I used to go on these impossible crash diets to fit into clothes. But not anymore, because your body is your temple. Learn to make sensible food choices. I never eat white bread, but I eat four eggs a day — yolk and white. I love avocados and I know it’s high in calories but those are good fats so don’t deny yourself those good things in life. In the morning, I eat steel-cut oats instead of the instant cook variety. It takes more than 30 minutes to cook. I have them with water and sometimes almond milk for some flavour. If that doesn’t sound appetising, have some cut papayas with nuts as the first meal of your day. For lunch, have steamed fish or vegetable salad with some light dressing and for dinner try some grilled chicken. I can go without carbs for days. But I also have my cheat days when I indulge in chocolates.
‘COCONUT OIL IS AMAZING’
I do something called oil pulling first thing in the morning. Basically, it’s about swishing some coconut oil in your mouth for twenty minutes before you brush your teeth. It’s like a natural mouthwash which helps you get rid of your bad breath. I also remove my make-up with coconut oil since it has anti-inflammatory properties too.
‘YOU CAN’T FIGHT GRAVITY’
Like everybody else, I too fear ageing. It’s never fun when breasts start falling and gravity takes over. In fact, I am thinking of getting gravity boots to fight it. Hopefully, those special boots will help me fight it as I do jump-stands with them. But jokes aside, anybody who says they don’t fear ageing is a d*** liar. Everybody fears it, but you can always stall it by eating healthy and exercising regularly.
Quote Unquote:
“I loved the taste of 2B. It’s light, fruity and refreshing. I wouldn’t say it, if it didn’t taste good,” said Fakhri, who unveiled the product at a glitzy event in Dubai on Thursday.
“I was telling my manager the other day: ‘how is that I am in the number four of FHM’s hottest Bollywood stars but I can’t get a date’. I think men think I am too American or maybe nobody has asked me on a date because I am so loud,” said Fakhri.
