ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (2025)

Table of Contents
1 #ELLECyclopedia: Leg Of Mutton. Exploring The Unlikely Intersection Of Animals Hindquarters And Fashion 2 ELLE Digital Cover Star: Tales of Tara Sutaria 3 ELLE Exclusive: Shanti Banaras’ New Collection RoaR Artistically Champions Tiger Conservation Efforts in India 4 You Season 5: Everything We Know About The Final Season 5 Here Are 5 Reasons Why You Should Spend Your Adult Money On Despicable Me 4 Related Stories ELLE’s Great Indian Festive Affair: Celebrity-Inspired Hairstyles You Need To Try This Festive Season 17 Years Of ‘Jab We Met’, Here Are 17 Reasons Why This Film Is Still So Iconic ELLE Digital Cover Stars: Dynamic Duo, Kajol And Kriti Sanon Akshaya Pillai More From cover - Trending ELLE’s Great Indian Festive Affair: Celebrity-Inspired Hairstyles You Need To Try This Festive Season ELLE’s Great Indian Festive Affair: Celebrity-Inspired Hairstyles You Need To Try This Festive Season ELLE’s Great Indian Festive Affair: Stunning Makeup Looks To Shine This Season ELLE’s Great Indian Festive Affair: Stunning Makeup Looks To Shine This Season 17 Years Of ‘Jab We Met’, Here Are 17 Reasons Why This Film Is Still So Iconic 17 Years Of ‘Jab We Met’, Here Are 17 Reasons Why This Film Is Still So Iconic ELLE Digital Cover Stars: Dynamic Duo, Kajol And Kriti Sanon ELLE Digital Cover Stars: Dynamic Duo, Kajol And Kriti Sanon From ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ To ‘Nocturnes,’ Here Are All The Winners From MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 From ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ To ‘Nocturnes,’ Here Are All The Winners From MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 ELLECyclopedia: Bob Mackie, The Visionary Designer Who’s Managed To Stay Relevant Even After 60 Years In The Industry ELLECyclopedia: Bob Mackie, The Visionary Designer Who’s Managed To Stay Relevant Even After 60 Years In The Industry References

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (1)

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#ELLECyclopedia: Leg Of Mutton. Exploring The Unlikely Intersection Of Animals Hindquarters And Fashion

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (2)

2

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Tales of Tara Sutaria

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (3)

3

ELLE Exclusive: Shanti Banaras’ New Collection RoaR Artistically Champions Tiger Conservation Efforts in India

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (4)

4

You Season 5: Everything We Know About The Final Season

  • - From the chaos of fame to the silence of a 10-day Vipasana retreat, the actor chats with Akshaya Pillai on beauty, belonging and the search for a slow life.

Akshaya Pillai
  • October 2, 2024
ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (8)

Before any interview, I try to trace the tiny ways in which I’ve crossed paths with the person I am about to speak to. A quick search leads to Nargis Fakhri popping up in my inbox thrice. The first instance, in 2011, was in the middle of a heated debate with a friend about Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Rockstar’. Another time in 2014, my boyfriend had forwarded a swimsuit shoot starring Fakhri. And most recently, a friend from Mumbai sent me a snippet mentioning the actor in a conversation about haunted places in her city. It’s funny the many ways a celebrity can play cameos in our personal lives, their images and stories cropping up like familiar landmarks in our own journeys.

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (9)

When you consider it from this angle, it becomes easier to ask them questions like ‘What part of your story do people always get wrong?’ “I felt misunderstood when I first came to India. People thought I was born and raised here, that I was this proper Indian actress,” Fakhri says. “I was the only one laughing at my jokes at times,” she reflects on her experience in those early days on film sets. “But I’m so glad that despite that, I was still shown a lot of love, and now I have so many fans who I also love in return and am grateful for.” Dualities make up Fakhri’s life.

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (10)

An insider in some rooms, a stranger in others. It’s this oscillation between extremes, both geographical and psychological, that makes for an interesting dialogue between the parts of herself that are seen and the parts that aren’t. “I am a very private person. If you go onto my social media, you won’t know what exactly is happening in my life. Of course, I share my travel pictures and special moments because I genuinely feel it’s the best way to connect with fans, but I’ve learned to carefully choose what aspects of my life to make public.” The pandemic, for many, was a time of returning to oneself.

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (11)

A sudden withdrawal from the world outside and a journeying inward. When Fakhri talks about missing India during the pandemic, she tells me it was a revelation that startled her. For the actor, who grew up in Queens, New York, raised by a single mother in a working-class environment, the isolation unearthed a deep sense of displacement. It was as if the forced stillness gave her permission to long for something she never realised she’d come to see as home.

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (12)

But the idea of home itself has always been complicated for Fakhri. It’s not tethered to a single place. ”I’ve come to understand that home isn’t about a location but about feeling a sense of peace and connection within myself and with the people around me.” It was her debut film ‘Rockstar’ that brought her to India in 2011. The mega production, in which she starred alongside Ranbir Kapoor, instantly cemented her in the pantheon of Bollywood’s new faces. With her statuesque height, sculpted jawline, and distinctive almond eyes, she brought a kind of fierce grace to the screen. Her modelling career had already taken her across the world, but Bollywood was different—it required more.

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (13)

It demanded a kind of emotional surrender that she quickly came to appreciate. From political thrillers like ‘Madras Café’ (2013), where she played a journalist, to her more commercial roles, like the one she plays in ‘Housefull 3’ (2016), Fakhri has navigated the terrain with a mixture of curiosity and caution, pushing herself, while defying convention. There’s a self-awareness to her understanding of how the world perceives an actor versus the ephemeral nature of their public persona. “Don’t put so much emphasis on something only to watch it disappear,” she says when we discuss the pressures of beauty standards in the film industry. “All you have to do is change your perception. Change your mindset, and things will no longer seem like a burden.”

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (14)

At the heart of Fakhri’s dreams for her future lies a desire for simplicity, for a deeper connection to the world and the self. She wishes for herself a quiet homestead, a place where she can live self-sufficiently. Recalling a transformative experience, she describes a 10-day Vipassana retreat she attended where the world outside was put on hold. “You leave feeling like a new human, recharged and reconnected to yourself so you are able to take on the world. I think it’s something we all should do for ourselves once a year.”

ELLE Digital Cover Star: Nargis Fakhri On Finding Herself - Elle India (15)

What becomes clear when speaking with Fakhri is that she is in constant dialogue—with the world, with herself and with the many layers of identity she inhabits. “One particular idea that I’m passionate about exploring is the intersection of entertainment and social change. I envision working on projects that not just entertain but also inspire and empower people, addressing important social issues and fostering positive dialogue.“ Her journey is not linear but spiralling, each turn bringing her closer to a deeper understanding of what it means to both belong and to stand apart, to be both object and subject, to be seen and unseen.

ELLE India Editor: Ainee Nizami Ahmedi, Videographer: Roshan Paul, Photographer: Aneev Rao; Fashion Director: Zoha Castelino, Hair: Justine Mellocastro, Makeup: Eshwar Log, Bookings Editor: Rishith Shetty, Assisted by: Komal Shetty (Lead Stylist), Vaishnavi Misra (Styling), Khushi Nagpal (Bookings), Artists PR: Raindrop Media.

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