Nora Fatehi says she used to be bullied for her dance skills in school

When it comes to dance songs, it seems Bollywood filmmakers can’t think of anyone but Nora Fatehi. And going by her moves, one naturally assumes that she has always been a fabulous dancer. However, Nora has a different story to tell.

“If you asked me 10-15 years ago if I’d ever be the go-to girl for dance songs and have audiences go crazy for my dance moves, I’d have probably laughed. There was a time when I used to be bullied for my dance at school. People used to laugh at me and say that I didn’t know how to dance,” shares the 27-year-old, who recently starred in a music video, Pachtaoge, opposite Vicky Kaushal.

Nora, who was born and raised in Canada, adds, “I used to always try to get into the cool group, the girls in the school who were fabulous dancers. I used to copy them and tried to get accepted but they always rejected me. I was told I wasn’t on their level of dancing.”

The actor has surely come a long way. From being mocked for her dance skills to having songs such as Rock the Party (Rocky Handsome; 2016), Kamariya (Stree; 2018), Dilbar (Satyamev Jayate; 2018) to the latest O Saki Saki from Batla House to her credit.

“It's an honour and gives me a lot of confidence to be considered as a good dancer. Filmmakers trust me as a newcomer, and also someone who is not from the industry, to carry a song on her shoulder alone. That’s a huge accomplishment. I never imagined that I’d be given this kind of responsibility and deliver,” she says.

On why she thinks the audiences have found a liking to her work, Nora says, “I don’t need a huge hero to carry the song, I can do it on my own. Also, I don’t do item songs, I do dance numbers. I’ve taken songs to another level. They are not just songs to titillate the audience. They’re songs that are sexy but are performance-based. It makes you want to join a dance class too.”

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