Born in Iran and raised in Germany, Elnaaz Norouzi rose to fame in India with her impressive role in an Web Series as Zoya Mirza in Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane’s Sacred Games. The model turned actress has since then featured in two successful music videos– Made In India and Naagin Jaise Kamar Hila– and appeared in a starring role alongside Kunal Kemmu in Ken Ghosh’s Abhay. However, it’s not been an easy journey for Elnaaz Norouzi who says that she “wasn’t really welcomed” in the industry.
In an interview she says, “I’m not going to mince my words. People welcome you as a human being is very different from welcoming you into the whole industry and saying, ‘we are going to take care of you.’ It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t welcomed. I can openly say that it’s been a hard struggle and it still is,” says Elnaaz.
Describing her struggle and experiences of being an outsider in Bollywood, Elnaaz says, “I still need to fight for small things that any other actor would not have to fight for because I’m an outsider or maybe a foreigner or because I’m a better target than anyone else who is maybe an Indian or from the industry. I think I was eventually welcomed because I worked really hard on my acting and I give myself that credit because if I hadn’t worked hard enough on my acting and my language, I wouldn’t have been welcomed at all. The reason why I’m getting all these offers is that people see the talent in me and they want to work with me.”
Talking about her experience working in the film, Elnaaz says, “It’s a situational comedy and the best part about it is that none of us really tried being funny. I don’t like it when you try to act the obvious, be it comedy or any other genre. Subtlety does it for me the most and that’s why I liked this film.”
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