Canadian dancer and actress Nora Fatehi is celebrating her 34th birthday on Friday, February 6, 2026. Famous for her dancing, Nora has featured in several hit songs over the years, including Dilbar, O Saki Saki, and Garmi.
Apart from dancing, she has also appeared in Bollywood films and series such as The Royals, Be Happy, Madgaon Express, Crakk, among others. But did you know that eight-year-old Nora Fatehi was shut down by her father when she first expressed her desire to act?
When Nora Fatehi was shut down by her father when she told him that she wanted to act
In an interview with Film Companion Studios, when asked why it is important for her to be an actor, Nora said, "Because bachpan se mujhe acting karni thi, aur mera sapna yahi tha ki mujhe acting karni hai, characters play karne hain, films karni hain. But honestly, it was suppressed as a young girl becase i wasn't allowed to voice that."
Recalling the incident, she shared, "ek baar mne bola ki mujhe acting karni hai and my dad looked at me and said don't ever say that again and I was very young I was eight years old and I said it very freely we hum ek film dekh rahe the and beeche mei ek lakdi thi film mei and i was like oh my god, kitni khubsurat ladki hai, uski acting kitni achhi hai, mujhe bhi aese karna hai, he looked that me and said, don't ever say this again if you want to do something in life it better be a lawyer, a doctor or a teacher. "
She further added, "Ek baar maine bola tha ki mujhe acting karni hai, and my dad looked at me and said, don't ever say that again. I was very young, I was eight years old, and I said it very freely. Hum ek film dekh rahe the, aur film ke beech mein ek ladki thi. I was like, "Oh my God, kitni khoobsurat ladki hai, uski acting kitni achhi hai. Mujhe bhi aise karna hai. He looked at me and said, don’t ever say this again. If you want to do something in life, it better be a lawyer, a doctor, or a teacher."
Speaking about discovering her true calling, Nora said, "So I said okay and I never ever repeated that ever and growing up in school I did a lot of drama classes a lot of theater you know those extracurricular activities we had in school in Canada and I took up a lot of a lot of these extracurricular stuff because it was inside me and I just wanted to take it out but my family never knew my dad never knew he thought I excelled as a student because I focused on my studies which I did but on the side I used to do all these things. This was in Canada, and I felt like myself when I was doing that. I felt the happiest when I was performing on stage in front of my peers. When I was acting and dancing, I realised ki main ek artist hoon, ek performer hoon. Whether it’s dancing, acting, or being a comedian and making people laugh, this is where I’m the happiest."
Nora opens up about her first dance opportunity
In the same interview, she also shared how performing on stage made her feel most alive and how dance became her first opportunity in India, "When i came India, mei India aayi thi acting karne ke liye and i just found myself dancing because they were the first opportunities that were coming took them up because in my head I'm like I'm a performer I'm an artist so I should be versatile I should be able to do everything and it just happened that the it clicked whatever dance number I did worked and everybody thankfully fortunately really responded well so I just didn't get the opportunities to showcase my acting because it's not easy."
She also added, "I feel like I used this as my stepping-stone as a door opener for people to recognise that I exist to create a brand for myself and to create a fan following."
