Elnaaz Norouzi, the actress from Iran, who wowed audiences with her performance as the Bollywood star Zoya Mirza in Nawazuddin Siddiqui- and Saif Ali Khan-starrer Sacred Games, is back on screen with Sony Liv’s Chutzpah. The sci-fi series that explores the darker side of the web, sees Elnaaz playing the role of a cam girl. The most interesting thing for the actress about playing this character was that she had to shoot her scenes entirely in front of the webcam. “I was in Germany during the lockdown when the makers wanted me to audition for it. I was given a lot of references to understand what cam girls are and what I have to play. So, I even shot my videos for it on the webcam and sent it to them,” she reveals.
Elnaaz’s character is called Wild Butterfly, and she had to experiment with different looks for her role. Bold make-up, and details such as brightly coloured nails and hair, and neon-lit sets — all of these add to Elnaaz ’s performance. “We put a lot of effort into all the looks, the costumes were well-thought through, and that’s what makes the character special. Something like this hasn’t been made in India before,” explains the actress. Though the looks might be fun, Chutzpah tries to explore something deep. The virtual world has both a good and a bad side to it. As after playing the role of someone who creates adult content, Elnaaz says there’s a significant take away from her character and the story.
“It’s important that we learn to not judge anyone. We need to understand the social media world. Everyone has a reason for what they do. We need to be much more considerate with each other. Beyond what you see on screen, there is a human being out there and we need to understand that,” says the actress. Though Elnaaz has bagged quite a few important roles and big projects in the industry, she says it hasn’t been easy so far. There’s only one piece of advice she has for aspiring artistes, “Don’t believe everything everyone says to you.” Next she will be seen in Sangeen where she teams up once again with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and in Aditya Roy Kapur’s Om.
Chutzpah is streaming on Sony LIV