Nora Fatehi
has been a part of multiple acting gigs including one with Ajay Devgn –
Bhuj: The Pride of India,
and another one with Salman Khan –
Bharat
. However, Nora is primarily remembered for her hit tracks. Whether it is
Dilbar
or
O Saki Saki
, Nora has been the go-to girl for hit dance tracks in the Hindi film industry. With
Madgaon Express
getting her laurels for her acting chops and her signing with a music label, Nora is now on her way to prove her mettle as an actress and singer.
Ask her if that means she would take a step back from songs and doing special appearances and she replies, “I’m not going to take a step back from anything.”
‘I’m here to break the narrow-minded thinking’
Nora further explains, “I’ve solidified my brand as Nora Fatehi – someone who is multidimensional, multifaceted, doing more than one thing, and is an entertainer. You’re going to see me doing films, the songs, and you’re going to see me working on my international career as a global music star. You’re going to see me doing the biggest stage performances in the biggest arenas and stadiums. This is who I’m going to be. It’s a breath of fresh air to see that these kinds of artists can exist in
Bollywood
. They exist in Hollywood. So why can’t they exist in Bollywood? I’m pretty sure we have some actors who could be great entertainers and performers. But there is this fear of being typecast, which is our industry’s fault. They should never have created these stereotypes to begin with. You never know, we could be having a Lady Gaga right now in our industry, right? I feel I’m here to break stereotypes. I’m here to break this narrow-minded way of thinking. When it comes to art, it cannot be one-dimensional. And this is my goal.”
Nora Fatehi
‘I didn’t know the ABCD of how to be on a set’
As the actress is set to embark on her new journey of striving to be a global phenomenon, she looks back at the journey so far. It’s been 10 years since Nora marked her debut in Hindi movies with the rather forgettable
Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans
. She recalls, “It’s been a roller coaster ride. I still remember not even knowing or understanding the ABCD of a camera or how to be on a set. It was all so new to me. I remember for my first scene in that film, the director called ‘cut’ and I immediately cut. I immediately just got out of character. He had to come to me and say, ‘Sweetie, when we say cut, you have to wait a good four or five seconds, then you break out’. I didn’t know that. So, there was so much I didn’t know that I was learning on set. Learning through experience. Nonetheless, I would look at these 10 years and say, let’s add another five years and this will be documentary-worthy.”
‘The last four years have been really insane’
Ask her if there was ever a documentary made as she claims, which part of her career would be the toughest for her to open up about, and she replies, “Probably the last four or five years. So much has happened that nobody knows about – inside out in my personal life. The last four or five years have been really insane. That would be a little tough for me to open up about. But if I’m ever going do a documentary, then I’ll have to be honest with the people.”
‘My family is overwhelmed with my success’
The Moroccan descent Nora was born and raised in Canada. Moving to another country for a career must have been a tough decision not only for her but also for her family. For the first time, she opens up about her family and what they think about her success. “Initially, obviously when I was embarking on this journey, all of them thought I was crazy. No one was supporting me at all and I don’t blame them. Just the idea of someone going to the other side of the world with no friends, no family, no contact, no relations is insane. It’s almost like deadly. I come from a very conservative and simple background. My family and the family before them had a very simple way of approaching life – get older, get married, have kids. That is it. I’m the only one who kind of came out of the edge and decided to do something that is not even thinkable. They’re not very expressive but I’m sure they’re supportive, they’re proud and sometimes a little surprised at the level of where aII I can go. When I’m with them, and we go to Dubai or Morocco or Canada they see the fandom. They are overwhelmed and they’re like, ‘How is this even possible?’ It is very new to them. I think it serves as a sign or makes me the poster girl in my family for my cousins and my nieces. All the girls and the boys in my family who are younger can believe in themselves,” she concludes.
