You can’t miss the exhilaration in Nargis Fakhri’s voice as she speaks about her return to the Hindi film industry after over three years since her last release, 'Torbaaz' (2020). To her, now is the best time to be part of Indian stories.

Reason? “The OTT explosion,” she exclaims, before adding, “Different kinds of movies and shows are being made. There are opportunities for all kinds of actors.”

In 2011, the actor had caught everyone’s attention with her debut in the Ranbir Kapoor-led Rockstar. A slew of largely underwhelming films followed. Now, she is set to begin again in Bollywood with Shiv Shastri Balboa. The Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta-starrer is special to Fakhri for a reason — set in New Jersey, the drama shows the real America, she believes. “The story doesn’t take place in glitzy Manhattan or Los Angeles, but in the small cities where real people live.”

The actor hopes this marks the beginning of exciting offers. In her new innings, she hopes to not repeat the missteps from her past stint. “In the past, I used to receive so many scripts. But you have to remember that your agency positions you a certain way. [They told me] that one has to think about the producer; they wanted me to work with so-and-so. Sometimes, you don’t have a say in what you do, even if you feel a script is amazing. It was difficult to adjust to it, but I trusted them because I didn’t know anything about the business.”

Now, the actor is more confident about her perspective on movies. Going forward, she will only listen to her heart, not the opinions of people around her. “There is no one telling me what to do. If anything interesting comes my way, I will do it.”

Does she have anything on her wish-list? “I would love to do action. That helps me push my boundaries. I would love to see strong women in action.”

Her contemporaries Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif are matching their male counterparts, punch for punch, in big-budget spy thrillers. Mention it to Fakhri, and she quips, “We three should do Charlie’s Angels.”