When Elnaaz Norouzi made her Netflix debut with Sacred Games, little did she realize that controversy would not only follow the first Indian original series of the streaming giant in the form of political debates, but also engulf her character in the series.
Talks have been raging about how the characters played by Karan Wahi and Elnaaz in the series, bear resemblances to real life instances from megastar Salman Khan and his ex girlfriend Katrina Kaif’s life.
And though Elnaaz has clarified that she never felt or realised any such thing during the shooting and simply followed the script, the controversy refuses to die down.
Ironically, all the hype and buzz has done good for Elnaaz. The girl has started receiving offers from Bollywood. Undeniably, her role in Sacred Games has proved that she has the looks and talent, so it seems only a matter of time before she achieves more. And this makes her an interesting person to track.
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Baby steps
Elnaaz hails from Iran and is charmed by the Indian entertainment industry. The actress has worked with Salman Khan in a Thumbs Up commercial and even on the Being Human ad campaign, apart from doing two prominent commercials with another megastar Shah Rukh Khan.
Glamour girl
The newbie has perfected her Hindi diction and has dubbed all her dialogues in Sacred Games, where she features along with established stars Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte. Directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, the series is based on Vikram Chandra’s critically-acclaimed novel of the same name.
The series portrays Elnaaz in a bold role, and belonging to the big bad world of Bollywood with its myriad temptations. Her character of Zoya Mirza who is shown as a calculating actress, has a hidden past and a relationship with Mumbai’s powerful criminal overlord Gaitonde (played by Nawazuddin), who wants to save her from an impending catastrophe. She is the only girl who survives in the first season of the series, and will now have a pivotal part to play in the second one.
Making it in India
A month ago, she also featured opposite Punjabi heartthrob singer-composer Guru Randhawa in the super successful music video of the single Made In India released by T-Series.
The Made In India video shot in Milan and Lake Como in Italy, has the chart-topping Guru wooing Elnaaz, with the lyrics praising her “worldly” beauty and describing how she looks “as if she is made in India.”
Beauty with brains
Though with her stunning looks and a figure to match, Elnaaz has much more to her. Well-read, intelligent and intellectual, she is fluent in seven languages — English, German, French, Urdu, Farsi, Hindi and Punjabi. She has also played the lead in a Punjabi film Khido Khundi.
Destination next
With a couple of film offers coming her way, it won’t be surprising if this stunner makes a grand impression on Bollywood next.
