Her Heer in Rockstar was panned by one and all. Now, the spunky 33-year-old is back with her second film Madras Cafe, where she plays a daredevil war correspondent. A t2 chat with Nargis Fakhri.

You signed Madras Cafe a year after Rockstar. What took you so long?

I wasn’t living in the country and after Rockstar, it took me some time to decide to move here. I moved in 2012 and I became very busy with ads and magazine shoots. I was reading some scripts, none of which moved me in a way that I wanted to take it up there and then. I told my team that I wasn’t someone who wanted to do six films a year. I wanted to do films that I would feel connected to and want to watch as an audience.

Shoojit (Sircar) approached me and my team. When I heard the story, I knew that this was something that I wanted to do. The story itself is something that really hooked me from the start and the vision that they had for this film was something I really wanted to be a part of. On all accounts, Madras Cafe was a win-win film for me and something that I would be stupid to let go off. As my second film, I couldn’t have picked any better. Plus, I had watched Vicky Donor and absolutely loved it! I was so pleasantly surprised by how different the film was and yet how much we could all connect to it.

Your role here seems very different from the terminally-ill Heer in Rockstar…

This, for sure, is a complete departure from what I did in Rockstar. I play an international journalist, a war correspondent who is constantly on the field in battle-stricken Sri Lanka. I had to put a lot of thought into how I wanted to go about portraying this woman called Jaya. This is a person who is so passionate about her work that she risks her life every day to report on things she feels need to be out there to save millions.

How did you prepare to play Jaya?

I did do a lot of research. I watched many documentaries and sat with Shoojit to understand what it takes to be a war correspondent. We also had a lot of workshops. If you watch BBC or CNN, you will see these journalists reporting from the field even when they are in the line of fire and have bombs exploding around them. They are so in the moment… so committed to their job and nothing else really matters to them. That’s what I wanted to bring into my portrayal of Jaya. I am the kind of person who, if exposed to something like this, would be screaming my lungs out! (Laughs) Researching this particular line of work was very interesting and I actually have started viewing these journalists in a whole new light.

What were the biggest challenges of playing this character?

It is a very tough role. Rockstar was tough for certain reasons, while this one has been tough for very different reasons. When it comes to Madras Cafe, I had to spend a lot of time understanding the psyche of a journalist working in an unstable environment. I have experienced different things in life which have been very scary, but I have never been in a war zone. I had to understand Jaya’s passion, her burning need to do something for the people she doesn’t even know. I am not someone who would probably risk her life for anyone else, but Jaya does it each and every day.

How much did you have to physically stretch yourself?

I haven’t done stuff like jumping off a building or anything, but there was a lot of trekking in the jungles. We had to cross a river that was very slippery and dangerous. I don’t think it was very hygienic… God knows what was floating around there (laughs). Then, there was gunfire with which I actually got hit in the face. They have kept that footage, which I think is kind of cool (laughs).

You hit it off superbly with Ranbir in Rockstar. How was John as a co-star?

Oh, I am super blessed to have such a great crew in just my second film. John is a wonderful co-star and Shoojit is an amazing director. They are also lovely people. For me, in a job like this, it’s important to work with people who make me comfortable. John was extremely cooperative. Sometimes, I would take time to pick up something, but he would be very patient and would also pitch in. He was also doubling as co-producer and so his responsibility was all the more.

From “stiff” to “zero screen presence”, your acting has come in for a lot of flak..

Yes, people have been quite generous with their criticism (laughs). But I value criticism as much as I value praise because both tell me about the direction in which I am heading. While I do take most criticism as constructive, there have been some that have been unnecessarily nasty. I really can’t help that apart from shrugging my shoulders and moving on.

Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Uday Chopra, Ness Wadia. You have more link-ups than films!

(Laughs) Well, it’s part of the job, I guess. I am a person with no hang-ups, I make friends easily and that can probably be misconstrued sometimes by some people. Ranbir was a lovely co-star, my first hero in my first film and he will always be a dear friend. Even after all the rumours about us, we continued to go out because we enjoy each other’s company. Shahid I know very briefly, but then again he’s a great person to be around with. Uday and I keep bantering on Twitter. He’s a fun guy. I value my friendships; if people want to interpret them differently, there’s nothing I can do.

How do you deal with such rumours?

Well, I had stopped reading newspapers and magazines in the middle (laughs). I didn’t want to start my day with all that… I was going crazy reading about a new link-up every day. But now, I know how to handle it better. I just shut everything out and concentrate on my job.

You’ve been born and brought up in the US. Have you adjusted to the ways of Bollywood yet?

Well, every day I am adjusting and learning (laughs). I have a good support system here and I have found my footing, but there’s a long way to go. I am growing every day.

You’ve also just canned your first item number, Dhating naach with Shahid for Phata Poster Nikla Hero. What was that like?

That was an experience! (Laughs). It looks so beautiful and glamorous from the outside, but trust me, it’s so tough! The hours, the rehearsals, the last-minute changes where you have to learn things at the last minute is killing. There was so much commotion, but in the end, it was fun. I really like what I have done… hope the audience likes it now.

Priyanka Roy

If you were Shoojit, would you have cast Nargis in Madras Cafe?Tell t2@abp.in