Nargis Fakhri (born October 20, 1979) is an American actress and model who primarily works in the Indian Hindi-language films.[1][2] Her first role in film came with the 2011 romantic drama Rockstar, for which she was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She subsequently played a war correspondent in the political thriller Madras Cafe (2013), and starred in the commercially successful comedies Main Tera Hero (2014), Spy (2015, her first Hollywood production) and Housefull 3 (2016).[3][4]
Early life and modeling
Fakhri was born on October 20, 1979,[5] in Queens, New York City, to Mohammed Fakhri, and Marie Fakhri, a former police officer.[6] Her father is Pakistani, and her mother is Czech.[6] She has one younger sister, Aliya. Fakhri's parents divorced when she was six, and her father died a few years later.[7] Because of her mixed Pakistani-Czech ethnicity and American nationality, Fakhri describes herself a "global citizen".[6][7][5]
Fakhri started her career as a model at the age of 16. In her later years, she appeared as a contestant on the second and third cycle of America's Next Top Model (2004).[2] Although Fakhri was selected for the first two challenges of both the cycles, she failed to make up to the third challenge for the top twelve contestants.[8] She subsequently modeled professionally in America, working for freelance agencies, and appearing regularly at fashion shows. Fakhri's fame increased when she appeared in a popular Indian print campaign for the 2009 Kingfisher Calendar.[5] Her appearance in the Kingfisher Calendar attracted the attention of Indian filmmaker Imtiaz Ali.[9][10] He selected her for a role in the Hindi romantic drama Rockstar.[11][12] Fakhri later said that she agreed to work in India so that she could "relate to [her] culture" and get "close to [her] roots [Pakistan]", because India and Pakistan share similar cultures.[6][4][7]
Fakhri made her acting debut with a female lead role in Imtiaz Ali's musical romantic drama Rockstar in 2011. The film follows the journey of an aspiring musician from a humble background to international stardom after the death of his passionate lover.[13]Rockstar was the first film in India to show a Kashmiri Pandit wedding, and saw Fakhri as a free-spirited rich brat, hailing from the Kashmiri Pandit background.[14][15] Due to her poor command in Hindi, Fakhri's voice was dubbed over by the voice artist Mona Ghosh Shetty.[citation needed] The film received overwhelming responses from critics, but their opinions toward her were mixed, though she was praised for her looks.[16][17] Film critic Taran Adarsh wrote: "Nargis is a stunner as far as looks are concerned, but isn't persuasive in poignant moments", however, he praised her on-screen chemistry with co-star Ranbir Kapoor.[18]Raja Sen of Rediff noted that she is an "exotically ravishing heroine, one so pretty we forgive her occasionally stilted diction",[19] while Nikhat Kazmi praised her performance and said that Fakhri "stands tall as the delectable Heer who sizzles on screen with her unconventional ways".[20] With a gross revenue of ₹1.07 billion (US$13 million), Rockstar was one of the top-grossing Hindi films of the year.[21] Fakhri's performance in the film earned her several Best Female Debut nominations at various award ceremonies, including a Filmfare nomination.
Her next release was opposite John Abraham in the Shoojit Sircar's political thriller Madras Cafe (2013), a drama set during the time of the Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war and the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.[22] Her portrayal was of a British war correspondent in Sri Lanka, and was inspired by many war correspondents, including Anita Pratap.[23] Unlike her debut film, Fakhri dubbed her own dialogues and was approached for the film because Sircar wanted "a girl who looked Indian but had an [English] accent".[24] Upon release, Madras Cafe received acclaim from the critics, and the performances of the lead actors were praised.[25] Saibal Chatterjee said Fakhri "strikes the right notes",[26] whereas Rajeev Masand called her "pleasantly competent".[27] Anuj Kumar of The Hindu was particularly impressed with the film and thought that Fakhri has proved that she has more to her than just a "prominent pout".[28][29] Later that year, she made a special appearance in the action comedy Phata Poster Nikhla Hero to perform in the item number "Dhating Naach" with the film's lead actor Shahid Kapoor.[30]
The following year, Fakhri collaborated with Varun Dhawan and Ileana D'Cruz for the romantic comedy Main Tera Hero, a remake of the 2011 Telugu film Kandireega, produced by Balaji Motion Pictures and directed by David Dhawan.[citation needed] Set in Bangkok, she played Ayesha, a Don's daughter, who falls for an impetuous brat.[3] The film was a financial success, but received mixed reviews from critics.[31] For her performance in the film, Rohit Khilnani said that Fakhri "is not bad" and that "she fits well in this masala comedy and doesn't disappoint".[32][33] Taran Adarsh however, disagreed, and said though she "looks great", she needs to "polish her acting skills".[34] She next appeared in a popular item number titled "Yaar Naa Miley" with Salman Khan for Sajid Nadiadwala's action thriller Kick.[35] The song was well received by critics and was immensely popular among the audience.[36][37] Later that year, she starred in Paul Feig's action comedy Spy, her first project in Hollywood.[4] The film follows the transformation of desk-bound CIA analyst Susan Cooper (McCarthy) into a field agent who attempts to foil the black market sale of a suitcase nuke.[38] Featuring alongside Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham and Jude Law, Fakhri was cast in her first antagonist role, portraying Lia, a secret agent. The film and her performance received praise from critics.[39] John Boone of Entertainment Tonight noted how much she stood out in the "fewer quieter scenes" of the film.[40][41] Fakhri's performance earned her an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight nomination.[42]Spy emerged as one of top-grossing productions of the year, earning $235.7 million worldwide.[43][44]
Recent roles (2016–present)
Fakhri began 2016 with a special appearance in the Tamil film Saagasam, to perform in the item number "Desi Girl" with the film's lead actor Prashanth.[45][46][47] The song, described as a peppy "bar number", was choreographed by Raju Sundaram, and featured hundred extras.[48][49] Fakhri next appeared alongside Emraan Hashmi and Prachi Desai in the biographical sports drama Azhar.[50] She portrayed Sangeeta Bijlani, an actress and the second wife of cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin.[51] In an interview with Mid-Day, Azharuddin said that the film is about his God, marriage and match-fixing.[52]Azhar generated controversy when a CBI officer, who investigated his case during match-fixing, claimed that he has a video tape in which Azharuddin had confessed his involvement in the match-fixing, however, he failed to prove it.[53] Critics praised the film's narration, but were divided in their opinion as to her performance.[54]Namrata Joshi of Outlook noted that she was "likeable" in her part, however, Devesh Sharma of Filmfare wrote that she brought "plasticky expressions".[55] Commercially, the film was moderately successful at the box office.[56] She then took on a supporting role for the third installment of the Housefull film series.[57] The ensemble comedy film saw her playing a rich brat who convinces who falls in love with a con-man (Abhishek Bachchan).[citation needed] Reviews of the film and her performance were largely negative.[58] Writing for Firstpost, Subhash K. Jha criticized Fakhri for her inclination toward a film where she was "treated as [a] visual attraction [...] and nothing else".[59] Nevertheless, the film was a major commercial success, grossing ₹1.88 billion (US$24 million) billion worldwide.[60][61] Fakhri then played a minor role in the adventure comedy Dishoom.[62] Her portrayal was of star Saqib Saleem's friend, which she described as a "cameo".[63]
Fakhri's final role in 2016 was as Christina, an American citizen in search of an instrumentalist capable of playing the banjo, in Ravi Jadhav's musical Banjo.[64][65] Co-starring Riteish Deshmukh, the film was described as a tribute to rappers living in Mumbai's ghettos.[66] Upon release, the film received mixed reviews and under performed at the Box Office India.[67] Writing for the Times of India, Renuka Vyavahare thought that she "overdoes the American accent but grows on you eventually."[68]Koimoi wrote that "Why would you waste your money to watch Nargis' acting and Riteish juggling between his Lai Bhaari and Rockstar character."[69] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV noted that her part in the drama is the film's "biggest undoing."[70] In October 2017 Fakhri was selected as a One Young World counselor, alongside Kofi Annan, Doutzen Kroes, and Cher to speak at their summit in Bogota.[71][72] Fakhri next starred in her second Hollywood production, the romantic comedy 5 Weddings (2018), opposite Rajkumar Rao.[73] Reza Noorani of The Times of India disliked the chemistry between Fakhri and Rao, and said that she "doesn't bring much to the table".[74] Fakhri begun 2019 with Bhushan Patel-directed horror thriller Amavas. As her previous release, the film received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the box-office.[75]
As of March 2019, Fakhri has completed work on the action thriller Torbaaz, alongside Sanjay Dutt.[76][77]
Personal life
Fakhri began dating actor Uday Chopra in 2013. The relationship attracted substantial media coverage in India and they speculated on an impending marriage.[78] However, the couple broke up in the end of 2017.[79] In May 2018, Fakhri confirmed and announced her relationship with filmmaker Matt Alonzo on Instagram but broke in 2019.[80][81] She is an self-professed eggetarian.[82]
^Annan, Kofi (April 4, 2018). "Kofi Annan on Facing The Future". New York New York Times. New York. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
^Desk, India TV News; News, India TV (January 5, 2014). "Nargis Fakri dilemma to turn vegan". www.indiatvnews.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023. ((cite web)): |last2= has generic name (help)
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