Daily Times

Bollywood diva Nargis Fakhri recalled her first-ever meeting with director Imtiaz Ali and heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor.

In her recent conversation with host Siddhaarth Aalambayan on his digital show, American-born actor-model Nargis Fakhri, who made her Bollywood
debut opposite superstar Ranbir Kapoor in Imtiaz Ali’s cult hit ‘Rockstar’, recalled her first thoughts about the team.

Speaking about her early life, Fakhri said that she studied psychology and fine arts and aspired to be an arts and crafts teacher, but soon realised that it wasn’t her calling. She then ended up doing a few modelling gigs upon the suggestions from her friends, but got bored of that as well, before she received an audition email from the team for ‘Rockstar’.

Although a little apprehensive about the career move initially, the actor divulged that she agreed to meet Ali in Prague for the audition and eventually for the film, to explore her own heritage and identity, having grown up in a culturally diverse New York neighbourhood.

Upon being asked about her experience with Kapoor, the ‘Madras Cafe’ actor admitted that it ‘was a blessing in hindsight’. “But, at the time, I didn’t know who he was. I was like, ‘Who’s this dorky guy?’ But he’s very cool,” she told the host.

“It was so much fun to work with so many people. But I had no idea who they were, which is probably great. Because I just enjoyed them for who they are. I wasn’t nervous, because I didn’t know who they were and when you don’t know, you don’t care,” Fakhri added.

Apart from being a cult hit, especially among the youth, Imtiaz Ali’s romance musical was also a box-office success and bagged several accolades for both Kapoor and Ali.

Moreover, the timeless music of the film by maestro AR Rahman was the ‘Best Album of the Decade’.