Mumbai: They crossed borders with mostly acting on their minds. Instead, they got typecast as ‘item girls’. Now, however, they believe things are changing for the better. According to Nora Fatehi, Elli AvRam and Evelyn Sharma, the Hindi film industry is also waking up to their talent as actors.
If it’s about dance and happens to be a recreation, then ‘Dilbar’ girl Nora Datehi is your go-to person in the Hindi film industry right now. Nora, who had moved from Canada to India a few years ago to become an actress, has done some intense drama opposite Vicky Kaushal in the music video of singer Arijit Singh’s ‘Pachtaoge’ and an interesting cameo turn in ‘Batla House’.
“This year the audience gets to slowly see my acting abilities with projects such as ‘Batla House’ and the forthcoming ‘Street Dancer 3D’. I’ve been waiting for such opportunities to come my way as I’ve always wanted to be an actress. With a project like ‘Pachtaoge’, I got to purely showcase my acting skills to another level,” Nora Fatehi pointed out.
Nora made her acting debut with ‘Roar: Tigers If The Sundarbans’ in 2014, but the dud show of the film meant her scope as an actress did not get much of an impetus.
“Then I started doing whatever came my way. I got the opportunity to feature in hit songs, and I tried to showcase my dancing skills through them. Despite not being a trained dancer, I became a dancing sensation, which I would not have expected 10 years back. I just went with the flow. It was not planned,” Nora said.
“I am now where I am just because of my dance performances. People paid attention to me because of my dances. My brand grew as a dancer and now offers are coming my way,” she added.
Swedish-Greek origin stunner Elli AvrRam, has a similar story. She has had a mix of dance and acting projects. She played the lead actress in ‘Mickey Virus’ and also shared screen space with comedy King Kapil Sharma in ‘Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon’. However, it was her dance numbers in movies like ‘Fraud Saiyaan’ and ‘Poster Boys’ that got her attention.
Elli AvrRam’s ‘Chamma chamma’ dance in ‘Fraud Saiyaan’, recreating an Urmila Matondkar original from the nineties, was a runaway hit. What’s more, she had a comic little cameo role in the film, too.
“I have to say I’m really grateful to be part of the remake of such a timeless iconic song with stunning and powerful Urmila Matondkar,” AvrRam had once tweeted.
German-Indian actress Evelyn Sharma’s journey in Mumbai has been a bit different. She has also shown her dancing skills, but mostly in music videos of songs including ‘Anni pa de’. In films, irrespective of their scale, she has mostly done acting. ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ and most recently the multi-lingual ‘Saaho’, starring Prabhas, are some of her films that she can boast about.
‘‘Saaho’ is my debut film in the South Indian film industry. Telugu was difficult to learn initially but I had so many people to guide me on the sets – like Prabhas and director Sujeeth, so I managed to learn my lines quickly. I have learned Hindi, but then Telugu is completely different. But I’m always up for a good challenge! We had so much fun shooting together with the pan-Indian cast, in three different languages!” Evelyn stated.
In the movie, Evelyn’s character is called Jennifer. “It’s a small but significant role where I will be seen in an action avatar for the first time,” the actress said, adding: “I couldn’t be happier that I am a part of the biggest action thriller of 2019.”
Other imports include Katrina Kaif and Jacqueline Fernandez, who are more than pretty faces or the ‘spicy’ ingredients in Hindi films. They two as leading ladies have a number of hits under their belts.
PNN & Agencies