Elnaaz Norouzi: ‘Not being from a Bollywood family and India makes things harder for me’

Elnaaz Norouzi talks about her latest release Hello Charlie, struggle as a foreigner in the Indian entertainment industry and living with the tag of 'Sacred Games actor'.

Elnaaz Norouzi says she’s found a new liking for the comedy genre “because you just want to sit there, not use your brain and laugh.” In a conversation with indianexpress.com, the Iranian-German actor shared her experience of working in the comedy film Hello Charlie which has a gorilla at the centre of its plot.

Hello Charlie also stars Jackie Shroff, Aadar Jain, Rajpal Yadav, Girish Kulkarni and Siddhanth Kapoor. It is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

“It’s very different to have animals in movies, and when you do, it becomes special. I guess that’s why people connect, especially animal lovers and children. So, a bigger audience comes to place,” Elnaaz exclusively told indianexpress.com. Further elaborating on being the brain behind the entire plot of Hello Charlie, the actor added, “My character Mona is a boss lady. She is a very glamorous girl, but she has brains as well. She’s basically setting the film into motion.”

Elnaaz Norouzi began her acting career with Punjabi films, post a successful stint as an international model. She got noticed after appearing in Netflix series Sacred Games and ZEE5 show Abhay. Does being referred to as the ‘Sacred Games actor’ bother her? “If people put tags, that’s their problem. An actor is there to do different roles. I don’t feel caught up in the tag at all.”

Elnaaz agrees that being a foreigner in the Indian entertainment industry isn’t easy. She said, “It has been tough, not an easy road. I guess it’ll continue to be a lot of struggle. I am not from a Bollywood family. I am not from India, so it gets even harder for me. But, it has also had its beautiful sides. I am getting to live my dream of being an actor in Bollywood.”

So, what has changed for Elnaaz Norouzi in the last 2-3 years? “I have always wanted to do roles that matter and work on scripts that have some kind of meaning. Even in Hello Charlie, it’s a comedy, but my character is not just standing around and looking beautiful. So, that is very important to me. I am glad that the scripts are changing, and there are more women-centric films being made,” she concluded.

Elnaaz will next be seen in a series bankrolled by Maddock Films. It is expected to release in May this year. The actor also has Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Sangeen in her kitty.

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