Nora Fatehi, who has always grabbed everyone’s attention with her amazing dance moves, believes that a new phase in her career has begun and now, she’s geared up to push her boundaries as an actor. In a chat with us, Nora, who rose to fame with songs like O Saki Saki, Garmi and Nach Meri Rani, talks about the ups and downs in her 10-year-long journey in showbiz and the road ahead. Excerpts:

Taking pride in making it on her own in the industry, she says, “I never needed a godfather here. I have always believed in myself. When I pitch myself to makers, I tell them, ‘This is why you need to take me. This is what I bring to the table. This is what I can offer as an actor’. If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect someone else to believe in you?”

Nora Fatehi, who was recently seen in Madgaon Express, feels that she is finally being acknowledged as an actor. “It has taken time to reach here, but that’s fine. The reason why it’s taken this much time is because it wasn’t my time. This is my time. The journey has been long, but at least I am here. Now, people are more open-minded towards me and my existence in the industry. Filmmakers will also think about me for more roles with substance,” she says.

The actress, who has been a part of reality shows, shot to fame with the 2018 dance track Dilbar – a redux of the 1999 hit. Her dancing skills saw her getting slotted as a dancer. Talking about getting stereotyped, she shares, “When someone becomes popular for something, they are typecast. It’s our responsibility to put our energy and best foot forward to try and break those stereotypes. Even when it comes to auditions, I don’t hesitate to do them even today. I auditioned for Be Happy. Even though I am a known name, I have auditioned for all the films that I’m doing, and I will probably need to continue doing it.”

Nora has seen her share of ups and downs, including controversies. She says, “I give a very nonchalant approach because most of the time I am. I came into this world, I came into this industry, thankfully, very thick-skinned. I didn't come from a very soft, luxurious background. I came from a very rough background before coming to India. I was already on my hustle, already on my grind. So, things were rough as it is. I built a thick skin already. However, with the things you're discussing – it is not even with trolling, trolls are fine. Comments, I get it. The air is free so people can talk for free. Anyone can say whatever they want, but it's the certain people (influential) who tweet certain things. It is certain headlines, and certain media publications that are supposed to be credible, that say certain things. Also, industry people who talk about me amongst themselves in camps spread certain rumors that are not true at all. They create certain perceptions about me. And that for me – despite me being thick-skinned and caring – I always ask, why? What is the reason? It may affect me for like a second. But then my brain goes, ‘Hello, you came here for a purpose. You have goals, forget about all that. You need to keep your eye on the prize’. So, that's the nonchalant energy that you see. It's because I'm so heavy focused and I'm always looking at the prize. So, I don't see what's happening around me. But I notice what is happening around me. I'm telling you 99% of the things they say are false, it's not true. That's where I'm always like, where are these things coming from? Sometimes I can be disappointed because they would attach my success to certain things that are not true. Then it almost makes me feel bad that you've taken away what I've given you guys, you've taken away my merit and just attached it to something which makes no sense. You have just ignored the talent, the skill and what I bring to the table and used something to say, ‘Oh, that's why she's here, that's why she's working’. That's a little disappointing. However, I'm so focused that I don't let these things shake me up.”