Nora Fatehi
Fatehi gained popularity in Telugu films for her special appearance songs in films like Temper, Baahubali: The Beginning and Kick 2 and has also starred in two Malayalam films, Double Barrel and Kayamkulam Kochunni. In 2015, Fatehi participated as a contestant on the reality television show Bigg Boss. In 2016, she was a participant in the reality television dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. She appeared in the Bollywood film Satyameva Jayate where she was featured in the recreated version of the song "Dilbar" and the song crossed 20 million views on YouTube in the first 24 hours of its release, making it the first Hindi song to achieve such numbers in India. She also collaborated with the Moroccan hip-hop group Fnaïre to release an Arabic version of the Dilbar song.
In 2019, she collaborated with Tanzanian musician and songwriter Rayvanny to release her first international English debut song Pepeta. In October 2022, she was chosen to feature in Light The Sky, a song for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, collaborating with artists, RedOne, Manal, Balqees and Rahma Riad. Fatehi has since played supporting parts in Hindi films Street Dancer 3D (2020) and Bhuj: The Pride of India (2021). She has also judged television shows Dance Deewane Juniors and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10.
Early life
Fatehi was born and raised in Canada, and is of Moroccan descent from her father's side. Her mother is Moroccan too. She graduated from Westview Centennial Secondary School in Toronto. She studied political science and international relations at York University. She has stated in interviews that she considers herself "an Indian at heart."
Career
Debut and dancing roles (2014-2019)
Fatehi began her career with her debut appearance in the Hindi film Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans. She played CJ, in her acting debut. She then ventured into Telugu films with item number, "Ittage Recchipodham", in Puri Jagannadh's film Temper. She also made a special appearance in the film Mr. X directed by Vikram Bhatt and produced by Mahesh Bhatt, alongside Emraan Hashmi and Gurmeet Choudhary. Fatehi further appeared in item numbers for films such as Baahubali: The Beginning's song "Manohari" and in Kick 2's song "Kukkurukuru".
In late June 2015, she signed a Telugu film Sher. In late August 2015, she signed a Telugu film Loafer which is directed by Puri Jagannadh starring opposite Varun Tej. She also appeared as an item number in Karthi's Bilingual film Oopiri/Thozha in late November 2015. In December 2015, Fatehi entered the Bigg Boss house as a wild card entrant in the ninth season. She spent 3 weeks inside the house before getting evicted in the 12th week (Day 83). She also participated in the reality television show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9 in 2016. She starred in the film My Birthday Song as the lead actress opposite Sanjay Suri.
In February 2019, she signed a contract with the record label T-Series as an exclusive artist, and will feature on their upcoming films, music videos, web series, and web films. In the same year, she appeared in Batla House, in the song "O Saki O Saki" and in Marjaavaan in the song "Ek Toh Kum Zindagani". Fatehi then played Suzan Vilayati Khan opposite Sunil Grover, in Bharat.
Expansion to acting roles (2020-present)
Fatehi played Mia, a dancer in the 2020 dance film Street Dancer 3D, opposite Varun Dhawan. On 6 March 2021, Fatehi became the first African-Arab female artiste whose song "Dilbar" crossed one billion views on YouTube. She also made her international single debut with the song "Dirty Little Secret" in collaboration with Zack Knight which was subsequently performed by her in the 22nd IIFA Awards. In that year, she played a spy Heena in Bhuj: The Pride of India, replacing Parineeti Chopra.
In 2022, Fatehi made appearances in the song "Manike" for the film Thank God, sung by Yohani, which is a remix of the original Sri Lankan song "Manike Mange Hite". She also appeared in the song "Jehda Nasha" from the film An Action Hero alongside Ayushman Khuranna. In the same year she gave a performance in the closing ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. She also took on the role of a judge in dance shows like "Dance Deewane Juniors" (season 1) and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10 alongside other judges. In 2023, she made an appearance in the song "Achha Sila Diya" alongside Rajkummar Rao after her collaboration with him in the song "Kamariya" for the film Stree in 2018. The song, composed and sung by B Praak with lyrics by Jaani, is a recreation of the film song "Achha Sila Diya Tune Mere Pyar Ka" which was featured in the 1995 Hindi film Bewafa Sanam.
In 2024, Fatehi took on more acting roles. She appeared as Alia, a social media influencer, in Crakk opposite Vidyut Jammwal. The film received negative reviews and Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times stated, "Nora is used as a mere prop and even though her character arc takes the story forward, she doesn't get ample scope to perform." Fatehi next played Tasha, opposite Divyenndu in Kunal Khemu's directorial debut Madgaon Express. Mayur Sanap from Rediff.com noted, "For a change, Nora Fatehi gets a legit role to play and she is suitably affable."
Media image
Vedanshi Pathak of Filmfare noted, "One song after the other, Fatehi proved that there is no one in the industry who can dance with such conviction and look appealing while doing so." She is an endorser for brands such as Dabur and CakeZone. Fatehi became the only actress to perform the second time at the IIFA Awards in 2023. In March 2023, Fatehi performed in various cities in the United States for "The Entertainers" tour, alongside Akshay Kumar, Disha Patani, Mouni Roy, Sonam Bajwa, Aparshakti Khurana, Stebin Ben and Zahrah S Khan.
Filmography
Films
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Language(s) | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans | CJ | Hindi | ||
| 2015 | Crazy Cukkad Family | Amy | |||
| Temper | Herself | Telugu | Special appearance in song "Ittage Rechchipodam" | ||
| Mr. X | Herself | Hindi | Special appearance in song "Alif se" | ||
| Double Barrel | Herself | Malayalam | Special appearance | ||
| Baahubali: The Beginning | Unnamed | Telugu / Tamil | Special appearance in song "Manohari" | ||
| Kick 2 | Herself | Telugu | Special appearance in song "Kiruku Kick" | ||
| Sher | Herself | Special appearance in song "Napere Pinky" | |||
| Loafer | Herself | Special appearance in song "Nokkey Dochey" | |||
| 2016 | Rocky Handsome | Herself | Hindi | Special appearance in song "Rock Tha Party" | |
| Oopiri / Thozha | Nemali | Telugu / Tamil | Special appearance in song "Door Number" | ||
| 2018 | My Birthday Song | Sandy | Hindi | ||
| Satyameva Jayate | Unnamed | Special appearance in song "Dilbar" | |||
| Stree | Unnamed | Special appearance in song "Kamariya" | |||
| Kayamkulam Kochuni | Herself | Malayalam | Special appearance in song "Nrithageethikalennum" | ||
| 2019 | Bharat | Suzan Vilayati Khan | Hindi | ||
| Batla House | Huma / Victoria | Special appearance in song "O Saki O Saki" | |||
| Marjaavaan | Herself | Special appearance in song "Ek Toh Kum Zindagani" | |||
| 2020 | Street Dancer 3D | Mia | |||
| 2021 | Bhuj: The Pride of India | Heena Rehman | |||
| Satyameva Jayate 2 | Dilruba | Special appearance in song "Kusu Kusu" | |||
| 2022 | Thank God | Herself | Special appearance in song "Manike" | ||
| An Action Hero | Herself | Special appearance in song "Jehda Nasha" | |||
| 2024 | Crakk | Alia | |||
| Madgaon Express | Tasha | ||||
| Dancing Dad † | TBA | Completed | |||
| Matka † | TBA | Telugu | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–2016 | Bigg Boss 9 | Contestant | 9th place | |
| 2016 | Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9 | 10th place | ||
| 2018 | MTV Dating in the Dark | Host | ||
| 2022 | Dance Deewane Juniors 1 | Herself | Judge | |
| Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10 | ||||
| 2023 | Hip Hop India 1 | Herself | Judge |
Web series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Star vs Food (Season 2) | Herself | Episode 5 | |
| 2022 | Moving In With Malaika | Episode 7 |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Singer(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Pop The Bottle | Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani, Akasa Singh, Badshah | |
| Naah | Harrdy Sandhu | ||
| Baby Marvake Maanegi | Raftaar | ||
| 2018 | Dilbar Arabic Version | Herself, Fnaïre | |
| 2019 | Pachtaoge | Arijit Singh | |
| Pepeta | Herself, Rayvanny | ||
| 2020 | Pachtaoge (Female version) | Asees Kaur | |
| Naach Meri Rani | Guru Randhawa, Nikhita Gandhi | ||
| Body (Dance Cover) | Megan Thee Stallion | ||
| 2021 | Chhor Denge | Parampara Tandon | |
| Dance Meri Rani | Guru Randhawa, Zahrah S Khan | ||
| 2023 | Achha Sila Diya | B Praak | |
| 2024 | Zaalim | Payal Dev, Badshah |
Discography
| Year | Title | Co-singer | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Dilbar Arabic Version | Fnaïre | |
| 2019 | Pepeta | Rayvanny | |
| 2022 | Dirty Little Secret | Zack Knight | |
| Light The Sky | Balqees, Rahma Riad, Manal | ||
| 2023 | Sexy In My Dress | — | |
| Im Bossy | — | ||
| 2024 | Who's Your Mommy | Srushti Tawade, Sameer Uddin | |
| Body On Me | Badshah |
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Pinkvilla Style Icons Awards | Fashion Trailblazer | Won | |
| Bollywood Hungama Style Icons | Most Stylish Glam Star | Nominated |