By Basab Dasgupta
I became an instant fan of Nora Fatehi when I watched her music videos “O Saki Saki” and “Dilbar” about eight years ago. She could flex and move her perfect hourglass figure in any way she wanted. I was further impressed to learn that she is not Indian and does not even have any Indian connection. She was born in Toronto to Moroccan parents and grew up in Canada. It is her admiration of Bollywood music and dream of fame and fortune in Bollywood movies that brought her to India.
I have followed every one of her music videos, typically item numbers, ever since with great interest and anxiously looked forward to the release of the next one. While most videos featured dazzling costumes (“Kusu Kusu”) and acrobatic choreographies (“Garmi”), some were pure works of art, like “Pachtaoge” (female version) and “Chhor Denge”. Adding to her appeal is a pretty and exotic face, different from the typical Bollywood beauty, thanks to her Moroccan ancestry.
It seems that belly dancing moves are inherent in her DNA, but some other moves show her limitless energy in dancing, like her Afro-style number, “Dance Meri Rani” with Guru Randhawa and many rap-style western dances. I didn't even know that Nora could sing until I saw the video “Dirty Little Secret,” which Nora produced herself by collaborating with British Pakistani performer Zach Knight.
Her voice was great and I wondered why Bollywood music directors used singers like Neha Kakkar and Tulsi Kumar as Nora’s voice when Nora could sing perfectly well for herself. Perhaps it has something to do with her unique childish voice, which sounds more like western rappers like Nicki Minaj than a traditional Indian singer.
Although my exposure to anything Moroccan before Nora was limited, I could tell that traditional Moroccan elements were missing from Nora’s Bollywood routines, especially in tunes and ambience. Nora herself created an Arabic version of “Dilbar” in collaboration with the Moroccan hip hop group Fnair, which was a big hit in Muslim countries.
Nora made her debut on the big screen in the movie “Roar: Tigers of Sundarbans“ in 2014. It was an unimpressive secondary role and did not involve any song or dance. She, however, made it known to the Bollywood bosses early on that she wanted to become an actress.
She revealed in a recent interview that some producers made her perform item dances in their movies without compensation but with the promise that she would be offered a movie role in the near future. Unfortunately, no such promise was honored.
Undeterred, Nora charmed everyone with her pleasant personality and sense of humor to make her way into other roles, such as reality shows like “Big Boss”. Later, she was part of the cast in a re-creation of the song “Achchha Shila..” (cover of a Sonu Nigam song from the movie “Bewafa Sanam”) along with Rajkumar Rao in a music video which itself is like a mini movie. She showed her potential as an actress in this video.
I was delighted when I learned that Nora would perform during the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament in Qatar. Judging by the potential viewership of World Cup festivities, I hoped that this was going to be her big break, which would take her to international fame and allow her to do whatever she pleased.
Although she performed well in the musical routine “Light up the Sky” as part of a group of singers, it was less than what I had hoped for in terms of attention she received during the ceremony.
Nora continued her campaign to get acting roles in Bollywood and, in fact, landed parts in movies like “Madgaon Express” and “Crakk“ and various web series. At the same time, she was forming international collaborations in composing and directing music videos as well as singing in her own voice.
Of special mention are the videos “Pepeta” with Tanzanian musician Rayvanny, “Snake” with the American rapper Jason Terulo, “O Mama Tetema” with Rayvanny, and “What Do I Know?” with Jamaican Shenseea. Snake is a spectacular video which was partly filmed in Morocco.
She continued to appear in various Indian item dances with famous rappers like Badshah in “Zaalim” and “Sajan Re”, with Karan Aujla in "Aaye Haaye”, with Prabhu Deva in “Sultana, and with Yo Yo Honey Singh in “Payal” and “Body Roll”, all scoring millions of views on YouTube. She is adored by young girls across India and the Middle East. Her impromptu live performance in a mall in Abu Dhabi was a joy to watch.
Finally, came the FIFA World Cup in 2026, jointly hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. The special attraction for me would be the halftime show during the finals featuring two iconic superstars, Shakira and Madonna. As expected, Shakira released the video of her “official 2026 FIFA” song ahead of time, which instantly became very popular.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a music video, “Siir, Siir”, released around the same time, featuring Nora Fatehi, which also became popular, almost competing with Shakira’s song in popularity. Nora collaborated with Sanjoy, a Bangladeshi musician, and Vegedream, none of whom I knew before.
Furthermore, I kept seeing photos and videos of Nora hobnobbing with stars like Shakira and Lionel Messi. She prominently participated in the Canadian opening ceremony in Toronto, singing “Siir Siir” live and was received favorably worldwide.
I believe that Nora has finally reached international stardom during this 2026 World Cup, which I had hoped for her in 2022. Several other of her music videos have been released recently, like “Champions”, “Locked in” and “Ya Baba”. They are all excellent compositions - some by Sanjoy and some by Nora herself.
I have watched each of these videos multiple times and concluded that this is a new Nora, different from what I used to see in her Bollywood item dances. Here are the characteristics of the new Nora.
She appears to be freer in expressing herself and enjoying what she is doing. She plays a key role in each video in the selection of the theme, direction, composition, or performance. She has established strong collaborations with very talented international artists. She has discarded traditional Indian style in her attire or dance moves and accepted Arabic as well as Western rap style in music. She is using more Moroccan elements in her outfits and background decor.
It almost seems like Nora is saying goodbye to Bollywood and embarking on a new and bigger global platform where she can decide every aspect of her creative output. Note that she did not carry the Indian flag anywhere during the FIFA tournament; she has not used a single Hindi word in any of her lyrics nor an Indian tune in any song she composed.
While some viewers have been disappointed at this, I am not offended. As a genuine fan, I can only say “good for you; go, Nora. You are truly an international star who should not be caged to perform only item dances in Bollywood”.
(California-based Basab Dasgupta has a doctorate in Physics from the University of Wisconsin and has worked with Sony as Vice President of an operating division.)
