Nargis Fakhri: I don’t react to online trolls, because they don’t pay my bills

Actor Nargis Fakhri says that trolls trying to body-shame Bollywood celebrities are wasting their time, because the celebrities are paid big bucks for their looks and clothes, and they don’t care about what trolls say.

Nargis Fakhri is perhaps one of Bollywood’s best foreign imports, if not for her films then definitely for her wit. Be it her link-up rumours with actor Uday Chopra or getting trolled by body-shamers, the American model-turned-actor has always maintained a rather funny approach to how she deals with it all. “I’m just funny all the time. Ask the people who work with me. We are always laughing,” says the 37-year-old.

Actor Nargis Fakhri says she is funny all the time — the people around her are “always laughing”.

There’s an undercurrent of sarcasm in Nargis’ social media posts as well, which hardly go unnoticed, and are often fodder for gossip. But that doesn’t annoy the actor whatsoever. “There’s nothing to feel about it because I don’t need to pay for PR (public relations)! I’m always in the news without doing anything,” she laughs.

As talks veer to frequent trolling that Bollywood celebrities go through online, Nargis has her priorities sorted. “I don’t react to them because those who troll are not paying my bills, so they don’t have any significance in my life. I give love back to my fans. They are the ones that mean something to me and have a space in my life. I appreciate their support and positivity towards me,” says the actor, who is glad to have become “somewhat immune” to mean remarks.

Commenting on recent instances of actors Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Fatima Sana Shaikh being body-shamed for their choice of clothes, Nargis says “it’s more of bullying” that happens all over the world. “Celebs don’t care, because they are getting paid big bucks for their looks and for what they wear. So people [who are] trolling are wasting their time, while we laugh at them all the way to the bank,” quips Nargis.

The actor, who has worked in films such as Rockstar (2011), Main Tera Hero (2014) and Azhar (2016), recently made her singing debut with singer-composer Parichay and Canadian musician Kardinal Offishall. About the Punjabi single, she says, “I’m not a trained singer and don’t know Punjabi, so it was challenging. [But] experiencing and learning new things are what get me excited about life,” says Nargis, who is on a break from Bollywood films, and has been living in Los Angeles for about eight months now.

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