What the director didn’t know was that Nora is actually Moroccan by birth, but was raised in Canada.
What the director didn’t know was that Nora is actually Moroccan by birth, but was raised in Canada. Nora Fatehi, who began her career with Roar: Tigers of the Sunderbans in 2014, has become one of the most prominent names in the industry. Her journey, however, hasn’t been easy.
From being bullied by directors to now commanding around Rs 2 crore per song, Nora has faced many challenges along the way. In an interview with News 18, she opened up about how she was once insulted for not knowing Hindi, highlighting the struggles she had to overcome to make her mark in the industry.
She said, “Auditions were really traumatic because I was just learning Hindi, and I would make a fool out of myself. People were unforgiving; they would laugh in my face. I would sit in the rickshaw and I would be howling, and the driver would be like ‘are you okay?’ I remember one casting director, she just ripped me apart. She told me ‘why are you even here?’ And I was like ‘Because I wanna make it, you know. I have a dream. I want to be a performer; I want to entertain people, added Fatehi.”
Nora mentioned that the director said, “‘No, no, no, go back to your country. We already have people like you, go back.’” She further added, ” And it hurt me, because we, and by we I mean the Moroccan people, we grew up watching Hindi cinema. We idolise it. Arab people are crazy about Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Kajol, Madhuri Dixit ma’am; they are obsessed with them, said the 31-years-old actor.”
In an interview with BBC Asian Network, Nora Fatehi, famously known for her Dilbar song, revealed that during her struggling days, she had to take on odd jobs to make ends meet. She even shared that she worked at a hookah bar as part of her efforts to fulfill her basic needs before making it big in the industry.
Nora said, “Whatever opportunities I have got have been very last minute and thankfully I was prepared. I wouldn’t go out and socialise and party like all the other girls did and have a boyfriend. I’d lock myself in a room every day, learn the language, watch TV and practice in my room. I missed out on my brother’s wedding, his birthday, everything. So many people were like, ‘you want to be like the next Katrina Kaif?.”
Discussing her experience working in a hookah bar, the actor-dancer shared that she honed her dancing skills while on the job. “It’s a thing. You just pick up a shisha, just like, ‘Here’s your shisha, how is it? Yes!’ It’s not a ‘Oh, you need me. Alright cool, I’m here’,” explained Nora.
