'When I’m in front of the camera, I really deliver'

Nora Fatehi confessed that she gets ‘panic calls’ from producers who want her to appear in special songs for films that they know aren’t very good. She said that she doesn’t say yes to every such offer that is made to her because she doesn’t want to be known only as a dancer, but she also emphasised that when she does say yes, she gives it her all.

In an interview with ‘BBC Asian Network’, Nora agreed that she can be rude and ‘difficult to work with’ sometimes, but that’s because she holds herself and everybody she chooses to work with to a high standard: “At work, I am rude sometimes. I am difficult because I don’t expect anything but the best and I have sacrificed so much. When I go in front of the camera or when I’m on stage, I don’t leave any crumbs, I eat.”

Asked how she feels about getting panicked calls from producers to come to the aid of their film, she laughed and said, “I don’t know if everybody needs me, but it definitely gives me a certain sense of empowerment and responsibility. And if I do say yes, I give them everything. I give them my time. I rehearse for hours. I make sure I take every detail, down to the costume and makeup, very seriously. When I’m in front of the camera, I really deliver. So, it’s not like, ‘Oh, you need me? I’m here, I’ll do two-three steps and leave. It should be good enough, at least I’m standing’. No.”

She continued, “In a year, if 10 songs are offered to me, I’ll just say yes to one or two. Sometimes, I don’t say yes to any of them. I don’t want to bore the audience. I can’t do too many songs, too, because what happens is that people in our industry can get into the space of typecasting and then they can’t see anything but that. Then you have to open their eyes up, unfortunately, because they’re also in tunnel vision.”

Nora broke out thanks to her massively popular dance numbers, such as ‘Dilbar’ and ‘Garmi’. She also appeared on ‘Bigg Boss’ as a contestant and has acted in films such as ‘Bhuj: The Pride of India’ and ‘Street Dancer 3D’. She said that she has four films lined up for release.