We meet Nargis Fakhri at a café in Bandra where she is
snacking on a beetroot and arugula salad with goat cheese. The dance enthusiast
talks about her new fitness mantra and demonstrates a dance move. She throws
her shoulders back and thrusts her bosom forward. "Are you having a heart
attack?" her manager laughs.
Born to a Pakistani father and Czech mother, she was raised
in New York, US and was a professional model until she signed Imtiaz Ali's
Rockstar. In these two years, she has gained nine kilos and loves the
transformation. "If I was a man, I would prefer a sexy, curvy, bigger
girl," she says. "With her softness, holding her would be so
beautiful." She interrupts and asks her manager, "Am I scaring
you?" Her manger smiles and she continues, "Who did this to us? Every
one prefers skinny models in the West. I am glad Indian men want real
women." We listen as Nargis reveals her fitness secrets:
Body type
When I came here in 2010, I was so tiny everybody wanted to
feed me. But I am not unhealthy. I kept my weight very low because in the
modelling world in the West, they want thinner women. It took me a while to
adjust to this new body. But I am glad there is no pressure to stay slim
anymore. When I put on weight, I say 'that's enough' and put myself on a regime
— no junk food, no eating out. I think I am very lucky because if I can just
correct my food intake, my body will snap back into shape.
Fitness is
Fitness is 70-80 percent diet and the rest is exercise. I
find it boring to go to the gym and prefer to be active. In America, I played
tennis, volleyball, soccer with the guys and walked everywhere. I wouldn't
drive and I also had a bicycle with a basket and went grocery shopping on it. I
find it difficult to do all this in Mumbai because of the weather and the
pollution.
Diet during modeling
days
I started my day with oatmeal, fresh fruit and had two hard
boiled eggs three hours later. Lunch would be something like grilled salmon
with sautéed spinach. In between meals, I had smoothies, yogurt, fresh fruits
or shakes. I made sure I ate something every three hours. I had no cakes, no
cookies, no fried food, no meat. I wouldn't have dairy products, rice, white
bread, oil and no dressing on my salad. I kept dinner light. It’d be salad,
soup with crackers and a banana or a hard-boiled egg, and toast. If I eat too
much at night, I don't sleep well. If I eat a full meal, I wait for two hours
before going to sleep.
Gaining weight
You shouldn't weigh yourself, but measure yourself. (Her
waist measures 25 inches). The belief that thin is beautiful is not true. It's
your confidence and the way you feel about yourself that counts. Imtiaz had
asked me to gain weight for Rockstar. I hated it initially. And I lost weight
again. Now my schedule is so hectic I don't get to do much. Last week, I was in
Delhi and I had three plates of butter chicken with six chapattis and
daalchaawal. Then I went to my room and had rasmalai. It was ecstasy.
Now I am eating three meals a day, including rice, with
desserts in between. I have two fried eggs with cheese, a ham sandwich in the
morning. After two hours, I have two chocolate bars. Lunch is salmon, chicken
or fish with mashed potatoes and salad. Then I have a chocolate cake with
jalapeños. I am a total foodie. In the evenings, my maid cooks vegetables such
as palak aalo, rajma and daal with four chapattis. Is that too much?
First things first
I usually go to bed early by 9-10pm. That way you don't
snack late at night. In the morning, I
drink a litre of water. Later, I have a coffee or two mugs of green tea with
nimbu and honey. It clears the kidneys and stomach. Then I have breakfast. I
also have a water retention problem. My lips almost touch my nose in the
mornings. But during the day it goes away.
I keep fit by
Learning Kathak. Two hours in the morning now, and I will up
it to four hours soon. I go swimming twice a week. Later, I have two hours of
Bollywood dancing where I'm learning the evolution of Indian dancing in films
from the ‘60s to today. I get to learn the feminine movements, shy expressions
and the 'nazakat' of Indian women. The salaam is so delicate. These motions
tell me so much about the two cultures. I am very tomboyish, so maybe in the
next couple of years someone would marry me as I will be more ladylike.
Cravings
I have a sweet tooth. I love rasgullas, fudge, ice cream,
cakes, laddoos, rasmalai and kulfi. In America, we clean our own houses and
burn the calories. Here, I don't have to do anything.