Nora Fatehi on her Bollywood struggles: ‘It gets complicated when you don’t belong to India, there are a lot of barriers’

She scorches the screen with her dance moves every single time, precisely why Nora Fatehi has so many hit dance numbers to her credit. Be it Rock the Party (Rocky Handsome; 2016), Kamariya (Stree; 2018), Dilbar (Satyameva Jayate; 2018), or the latest O Saki Saki from the recently released Batla House, she has always raised the bar a notch higher.

But Nora, it seems, is now raring to show off her acting chops. She asserts that she doesn’t want to be known as “a girl who does item songs”, but “I can also carry a role, too, which is very important if you want to last here”.

In fact, she adds her small but significant role in Batla House has been noticed by people. “It is a thing of honour and prestige. It also gave me an opportunity to showcase my acting and dialogue delivery skills which I feel are what a lot of people in the industry were waiting to see. Even the audiences were waiting to see that. It’ll help me cement my place and position in the industry,” says Nora, adding that she wants to gain the trust of the audiences and filmmakers.

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And for Nora, who is born and raised in Canada, the struggle to prove herself is greater as she is a newcomer from outside India. “It gets complicated when you don’t belong to India. There are a lot of barriers — language, understanding the nuances of an Indian character and so on. I want to be that artist in Bollywood who may be from abroad, but can be accepted equally like any Indian actress because of my skills. These few years, I’ve been hustling and trying to get a role in the industry and I’m also spending a lot of time improving my skills,” she shares.

The actor, who has been working on her diction and acting skills adds, “It’s the perfect timing for me. I am better equipped now than I was a few years ago.”

Batla House is not Nora’s first acting assignment. She has done roles in Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans (2014) and Crazy Cukkad Family (2015), both of which went unnoticed. So, why did she have to wait so long to get an impactful role? “It is a combination of many things,” she says, adding, “There were people who gave me those opportunities as they saw talent in me, but they were films which did not get attention. But I didn’t give up. I always thank Nikkhil Advani (director), who gave me Batla House.”

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