Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; February 22, 2019)

She had a busy year, after Dilbar (Satyameva Jayate) made waves and Nora Fatehi was signed up for pivotal roles in John Abraham’s Batla House as well as Salman Khan’s Bharat. The new year added another feather to her cap, when she was cast in Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor’s in Street Dancer 3D. The dance film has recently gone on floors and is currently being shot in London.

Given that the Remo D’Souza directorial is an out-and-out dance film, it’s expected to be packed with groovy face-offs between actors. Talking about her preparation for the film, Nora says, “2018 was my year and 2019 has also begun on a high note. It’s a grand dance film, and I really didn’t expect it to happen. You know when you think of a dance film, you think of Step Up and You Got Served. I watched those movies in my growing up years. Back in the day, I used to wonder if there’s ever a film like this, I’ll probably be a part of it, performing some of those energetic dance-offs. And look, it’s happened!”

She adds, “I’ve been preparing for this for years, but now that I’m ready to shoot, I realise that the level of dancing is going to be about 50 times higher than anything I have done before. I am not a trained dancer, which is hard for people to believe. There have been many dance forms that have been very difficult for me to pick up, but once I’ve figured them, it’s been comfortable. Contemporary dance was like that and right now, popping-locking is giving me sleepless nights. Whacking is also like that. Hip hop, Afro and even belly dancing were difficult, but only at the outset. I enjoy them now.”

Elaborating on what’s making her nervous about her under-production ventures, Nora says jokingly, “This year, people will see me for more than five minutes on the screen in all three films — Batla House, Bharat and Street Dancer. Let’s see if they can put up with that.”