A few years ago, nobody knew of Nora Fatehi. Despite a popular song in the hughely hit Baahubali and a Bigg Boss stint, the actress failed to find a foot in the industry. But Dilbar came last year and simply exploded. The song not only became a sensation but introduced Nora as the next big thing in Bollywood. Today, she's not only looked at, as a dancer, but also a performer.
Her O Saki Saki has become the latest chartbuster but she's planning to take everyone by a sweet surprise with her performance in Batla House. Here, she shares the stories behind her 5-year long struggle in the industry and how she battle through bullying, casting agents, cheating agencies and insecure roommates.
To watch her full story, watch the video below
.
She told us exclusively, "Life for foreigners in India is very difficult. We go through a lot and people don't even know. They take our money. It's happened to me. I remember my first agency who got me here from Canada. They were really aggressive in terms of behaviour and I didn't feel like I was guided the right way. So I wanted to leave them and in order to do that, they told me ' we are not going to give you your money' And I lost 20 lakhs at that time, which I had made from my ad campaigns. But I thought sacrificing it would be for a bigger picture."
"I had to share an apartment with 8 girls. I walked in to this apartment, I was shocked and I was freaking out. My roommates stole my passport, I had to leave India and go back to Canada for a while," she adds. Nora also spoke about getting bullied because of her language barrier and her nationality. "I started learning Hindi but the auditions were very traumatic for me. I wasn't really mentally prepared and I made a fool of myself. People were really unforgiving. They wouldn't just be mean, they would laugh in front of my face as if I'm some circus. They would bully me. It was humiliating. I used to cry while travelling back to my home. There was this one casting agent who once told me, 'We don't need you here. Go back'. I'll never forget that."
