from nobody to a bollywood dance sensation

Over the past few years, Nora Fatehi has become the new favorite dancing sensation in Bollywood and everyone has been loving her performances and dancing skills. The Moroccan-Canadian actor-dancer started her journey in 2015 and has been working relentlessly ever since to make her mark in the Hindi film industry. 

The videos of her recent three songs have collectively garnered more than a billion views on YouTube. Apart from dancing, Fatehi has also portrayed a few minor roles in recent films.

In a recent interview with Anupama Chopra on Film Companion, Fatehi spilled the beans on the struggles of aspiring to become a professional dancer and performer in a conservative Arab family, how she made her way to Bollywood, and the film industry’s treatment and attitude towards international artists.

It was her dream since she was a child to act and play characters in films, but she couldn’t express it to her family. Later, after her parents divorced, she had to support her family and take care of her younger brother. She took numerous jobs for four years after graduating from high school, and later realized that she had to start pursuing her dream and chose to go to India and become an actor. 

After landing in India, she started pursuing opportunities and honing her dancing and acting skills. She locked herself in a room, watched YouTube videos of her favorite performers and worked extremely hard to learn their moves. She has become so good with her dance moves that no one believes that she’s a self-taught dancer.

The secret sauce behind her massive success is that all her performances are not merely for the purpose of entertainment, but to inspire others and help them learn. In the interview, she says, “I want the audience to enjoy watching, they should learn, they should feel inspired. If you watch me for four minutes in a song, you should feel inspired to go to a dance class or learn a new dance style.”

She constantly wants to raise the bar for herself, and works relentlessly to make her current performance better than the previous one. She shares, “For some reason I believed that the audience doesn’t want me to do easy things, they want to see me do difficult things because it’s visually cool. Otherwise you can take anyone in an item song and they’ll justify it. I want to have a purpose in this industry and leave a mark.”

Fatehi is a great inspiration for all artists and creatives, as she’s someone who is committed to excellence and mastery, and creating a lasting impact on people’s minds and hearts. Something we can all learn from her example is that when we operate with a clear vision and mission and are persistent with our efforts, success becomes inevitable.