Nora Fatehi

Nora Fatehi (born 6 February 1992) is a Canadian dancer and actress based in India. She has appeared in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films. Fatehi made her acting debut with the Hindi film Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans.
Fatehi gained popularity in Telugu films for her item 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 9. 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. 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
Fatehi began her career with her debut appearance in the Hindi film Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans. 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 Beginnings song "Manohari" and in Kick 2s 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 signed a film Oopiri 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 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. She then appeared in the 2020 dance film Street Dancer 3D which became her first film with a supporting role. 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 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 the media
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
Television
Web series
Music videos
Discography
Awards
Notes
References
External links
1992 births
Living people
Canadian female models
Canadian film actresses
Canadian people of Moroccan descent
Canadian expatriate actresses in India
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Actresses in Tamil cinema
Actresses in Telugu cinema
Actresses in Malayalam cinema
Bigg Boss (Hindi TV series) contestants
21st-century Canadian actresses