Nora Fatehi’s meteoric rise to fame in the Indian entertainment industry might look glamorous on the surface, but it’s rooted in grit, sacrifice, and a healthy dose of bold decisions. In a revealing conversation with Rajeev Masand at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Nora opened up about her career-changing moments—the ones that came without a paycheck.
Back in 2018, when Fatehi took the spotlight as the featured dancer in the chart-topping “Dilbar” from Satyameva Jayate, she wasn’t exactly bathing in Bollywood glory or cash. In fact, she wasn’t paid at all. Nora was on the brink of leaving India for good when the opportunity knocked, along with “Kamariya” from Stree. Reflecting on her financial struggles, she said, “I needed money, but I was like, ‘It’s okay, let’s prioritise this first’.” It was a gamble that would shape her career.
Fatehi’s decision to accept these projects without monetary compensation was not one taken lightly. “When I met the creators of these two songs… which I never got paid for, by the way, I did them for free,” she candidly admitted. “I said that it’s not the time for me to make money, right now is the time for me to prove myself and to make a name, and to work with credible people.”
For Nora, the films Satyameva Jayate, headlined by John Abraham, and Stree, produced by Dinesh Vijan, were solid opportunities that outweighed financial gain. “All these things made more sense than to actually make money at that time,” she explained, despite desperately needing it.
Determined to stand out, Nora pushed to redefine the so-called item song. “When I sat with those filmmakers, the first thing I said is, ‘Look, we can make this into an item song and we can just look hot and sexy and end of story, or we could change the game and make this more into a dance-oriented visual,’” she said. The aim? To create a dance number that families could watch without flinching and one that would inspire audiences to try the choreography themselves.
She added, “Most girls who appeared in such songs… kind of want to show a bit of skin and then boom, the song is still going to be a hit. You don’t really need to push yourself with the choreography, but I had that requirement that it has to be heavy on choreography.” Nora was so invested in perfecting the visuals for “Dilbar” that she even trained the backup dancers for a week to match her precision.
It wasn’t just dance that Nora had to fight for; she also had to draw a line when it came to her wardrobe. The initial blouse provided for “Dilbar” was not something she could accept. “When they brought me the blouse, it was too tiny, and I had to put my foot down,” she revealed. “I said, ‘Guys, I cannot wear this. Don’t oversexualise me. I get it, it’s a sexy song… but we don’t have to be vulgar about it.’” In a last-minute scramble, the team reworked the blouse just in time for the shoot. “To some people, it still looks over sexy maybe, but for me, it was whatever I was comfortable with compared to what they were going to give me,” she noted.
Nora’s struggle was far from over before she landed these defining roles. She described her hardships while working with a modeling agency that exploited her financially. “We were really exploited as foreign models, and I didn’t have money to pay rent, to be honest,” she admitted. This led to a phase where she was “so skinny and borderline anorexic” because she couldn’t afford
Despite her sacrifices, Nora’s gamble paid off. “Dilbar” now boasts over a billion views on YouTube, cementing her status as a sought-after performer.
