Fardeen Khan is lean and fit. We tell him that he’s back to looking like he did a few years ago and he sportingly clarifies, “This is how I looked ‘many’ years ago!” After dabbling in the real estate business, the actor is back to Bollywood to resurrect his acting career after a decade-long sabbatical. While he shuttled between India and the UK occasionally in the past 10 years, he is contemplating on returning to Mumbai next year with his family — wife Natasha Madhvani and kids, son Azarius and daughter Diani, who study in the UK currently. In a chat with Bombay Times, Fardeen opens up on his massive weight loss journey, search for mental peace and his desire to return to acting as he feels Hindi cinema today has become more progressive and inclusive. Excerpts...

I had different priorities. I got into real estate business in between and that did well for me. It was a phase where my priority was my family. I was happy being a parent. We had challenges having children, so that was our reason to move out of the country. We tried to complete our family in London and that worked out well. I have two kids. My daughter will turn seven soon and my son is 3 years old. I got carried away with that to be honest. Being around them has been the most profound experience of my life. I got completely absorbed by that.

My last release was in 2010. I did want to take a break from Bollywood, but it turned out to be much longer than I anticipated. Sometimes, life just turns out the way it does. But now I am back and keen to do what I know best — acting. I have grown up in this film industry and this is where I belong. The process of telling a story is what I have always loved, and this is an exciting time right now. Cinema has become progressive. There are so many formats and varied content. As far as me disappearing is concerned, my kids’ study in the UK for now. I have been travelling back and forth between India and the UK, but because of the lockdown we were stuck there. This was the first time that I was away for 10 months at a stretch. I was missing home terribly. There is no place like Mumbai. We are planning to move out of the UK next year.

In our profession, a lot of importance is given to how you look. You are expected to look your best at all times. When I was trolled for my weight, I wasn’t actively part of the film industry. I had been away for years, so I was surprised at the degree and intensity of the reactions. That was my introduction to being trolled on social media, the new age that we live in. It doesn’t feel good to be in that situation, but you have to look at it for what it is. You have to find positivity within yourself. If you constantly seek validation from other people on what they think about you, you need to rethink that. Also, you need to be honest with yourself. I was extremely out of shape then. I found humour in it to whatever extent I could and moved on. I’ve never looked outwards for reassurances and validation. I know my truth and where I stand. I was well equipped to handle the criticism because of my personal attitude. When I posted my response, I saw people identifying with that as well.

I had put on a lot of weight and I wasn’t feeling good. I decided I wanted to look and feel my best as far as possible. I used the lockdown to invest in myself not just cosmetically, but health wise. Mental, emotional and physical health. I came across an author who’s had a great impact on my desire to be in the best of shape and not from a cosmetic point of view. She gave me a different perspective on health. I started training in May. I have made profound changes in my nutrition and diet, and it has helped a lot. I feel 25 again. I have dropped 18 kilos and I am near my target. Running around my kids also helped. With children, you have to lead by example. I am trying to get my daughter into fitness and that was a huge motivator.

This is a part of the process. Of course, I have 20 films to show to someone who isn’t familiar with my work, but if someone wants to test my acting ability, I am open to it. There is nothing wrong with it. Whatever it takes to bag meaningful opportunities. I respect the process.

After a break, you are at a different point in your life and at a different age. Obviously, you can’t do what you did years ago. I want to do meaningful, meaty work. Now there’s a good balance between entertainment and relevant cinema. Boundaries are being redefined and real issues are being highlighted. Gone are the traditional approaches or templates of filmmaking, the way we historically worked. It’s all very progressive. I have an open mind to doing anything. There’s a new generation of people making movies so they will perceive you differently. They may not slot you in the same category as others may have before. I have a learning curve ahead of me and I am looking forward to meeting people to get a sense of how they perceive me.