I had to mould myself for the Indian audience : Nora Fatehi

The Moroccan-Canadian beauty, Nora Fatehi talks about her song Dilbar and bagging a role in Salman Khan starrer Bharat
Nora Fatehi
Nora Fatehi

Nora Fatehi, the 26-year-old, Moroccan-Canadian model and actress is in the news for all the right reasons. Nora’s latest song Dilbar from the upcoming film Satyameva Jayate became the fastest to hit 100 million views on YouTube. Then, the actress was signed on by Ali Abbas Zafar to play an important role in Salman Khan’s next Eid release Bharat, and Nora’s #KikiChallenge video with Varun Sharma has gone viral.

The young model who came to India with dreams to be a Bollywood star four years ago, is certainly inching towards achieving it. “It has taken a lot of effort, struggle and convincing to gain the trust of people and filmmakers I am working with now,” says Nora candidly on a call from Mumbai. Her song, Dilbar, is a recreation of Sushmita Sen’s hit song from the ’90s film Sirf Tum. It’s Nora’s effortless moves with a focus on bellydancing, and the foot-tapping tune that has impressed fans.

When asked if she tried to recreate Sushmita’s magic, Nora says, “I watched the song when I was young and I have been a big fan of Sushmita’s dancing. But I had to create something new. Adil Shaikh choreographed it, I worked on the belly dancing and freestyle improvisations in the song.”

Entertainer for life
She says, dancing comes naturally to her because she always wanted to be an entertainer. “I knew when I was growing up that someday, I would also get into acting, and for me, dancing was the first step because I emote through my movements,” she adds. Though Nora started her career in Bollywood with the horror flick Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans, and has featured in item songs in films like Baahubali: The Beginning and Kick 2, and has worked in Telugu films, it’s Dilbar that has put her in the spotlight. Now, she is working on her next project, Bharat, in which she shares screen space with Salman Khan. “I am very excited about it. I play a Latina in the film and I need to work on getting my accent and body language right. Being part of a Salman Khan film is a huge turning point in my career,” says the actress.

Goal chaser
Nora admits that it has been a tough journey trying to understand the dynamics of the Indian film industry. Despite the fact that she was getting work, and was also given a chance as a wild card entry during Bigg Boss Season 9, she reveals how she had to work on certain things. “I had to understand what worked for an Indian audience, my body language had to change and I had to mould myself as per the entertainment culture here,” she says. But now everything seems to be working in her favour.

ayeshatabassum@newindianexpress.com
@aishatax

 

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