Smita Poojary (DNA; August 31, 2019)

After stunning the viewers with her sizzling dance moves in songs like Dilbar (Satyameva Jayate) and Saki Saki (Batla House), Nora Fatehi has now been noticed for her acting chops in the recently-released track Pachtaoge opposite Vicky Kaushal. Nora tells us that she is happy with the feedback. “I’m used to doing dance-oriented tracks where physically it is exhausting. But this song was in a different zone and required acting skills, too. I didn’t want to come across as overacting, so I tried to be as natural as possible with my performance.” Though she has been cast mostly for club bangers, Nora says that she came to India to be an all-round performer. “I am inclined towards acting and came here to do both. When I’m in the environment of performances and emotions, I feel I’m in the right place. And I’m happy that people have appreciated my work,” says she.

This is the first time that Nora and Vicky have featured in a project together. She tells us that sharing the screen space with the National Award winner (for Uri: The Surgical Strike) was a unique zone to be in. Unlike the usual dance-only environment, it was also about acting. “There was a point where you had to switch on your performance and I could see him do that, and it motivated me to do the same, which for my growth is important,” she points out. Their sizzling on-screen chemistry in the track is also being talked about. “I think for both artistes, the chemistry helps and attracts the audiences. It’s making them want to watch the video more and more. And I think we just did our job right as actors.” Off-screen, she states that working with the Manmarziyaan actor was a fun experience.

“I thought it would be a serious environment on set because he is such an intense actor. But we had a blast, we were joking, telling each other stories about our work and so on,” she avers.

Nora who has been part of two remixes — Dilbar and Saki Saki. The dancer-actress says that she would have loved to feature in the recreation of Tip Tip Barsa Paani (Mohra, 1994) or Helen’s numbers. “Unfortunately, Tip Tip has already been done,” she rues, “If that or Mehbooba (Sholay, 1975) is ever re-recreated, I would love to be a part of it,” she concludes.