Dancer-actress Nora Fatehi gained popular after she featured in the hit song Dilbar from John Abraham's film Satyameva Jayate, which was released in 2018. While the track's hook steps have become iconic, Nora revealed that she was not paid for her performance in the song.
In an interview with Rajeev Masand at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2024, Nora recalled that her blouse for Dilbar was made 'too tiny' for her, which nearly led her to refuse the song. She added, "When they brought me the blouse, it was too tiny, and I had to put my foot down. I said, 'Guys, I cannot wear this. Don’t oversexualise me. I get it, it’s a sexy song, we are all inherently sexy, but we don’t have to be vulgar about it.'"
Later, a 'comfortable' blouse was made for her in the morning, when they were about to shoot for Dilbar. "To some people, it still looks over sexy maybe, but for me, it was whatever I was comfortable with compared to what they were going to give me," Fatehi said.
Nora recalled that when she sat with the filmmakers, she stated the the item song could either be presented as 'hot and sexy' or they could take a different approach and turn it into a more 'dance-oriented visual.'
Nora shared that even from her song Kamariya from Stree, she was not paid at all. She revealed that when the offer for Kamariya came, she was planning to leave India for good, however she decided to do the song as she needed moneys.
"When I met the creators of these two songs… which I never got paid for, by the way, I did them for free," she stated. "I said that it’s not the time for me to make money, right now is the time for me to prove myself and to make a name, and to work with credible people," Nora added.
