Nora Fatehi in Dubai talks reinvention, Priyanka Chopra and why 'artists should never be stereotyped or boxed'

Dubai: Bollywood actress, performer, and singer Nora Fatehi was minutes away from walking the escalator runway at City Centre Deira, her gorgeous gown-meets-sari with a long train trailing behind her like a potential hazard.

Her team hovered nearby, but her focus was elsewhere. The real tension wasn’t whether she’d trip on her gorgeous sari with a long train — it was whether she’d be taken seriously beyond the labels attached to her.

“An artist should never be stereotyped or limited into a box, because an artist is always multifaceted,” she said in an interview with Gulf News.

When I pointed out that Priyanka Chopra Jonas was proof that reinvention was possible at any point in an artists' life, she nodded.

“What I love about Priyanka Chopra’s story is she proved that right, and she succeeded at it. And I just hope that I’m able to do that too.”

If Chopra took Bollywood to Hollywood, Fatehi is using Dubai as the launchpad for a different kind of global identity — one not defined by borders but by reach, reinvention, and raw hustle. And Dubai, she believes, is the city built for exactly that kind of ambition.

“Dubai is a place for opportunities, for embracing different talents and artists and giving them platforms… it just shows you that Dubai is going to open so many doors for artists all over the world.”

For Fatehi, Dubai isn’t a pitstop. It’s a mirror of who she is becoming. A singer for whom it's not just a vanity project.

“I would love to describe myself as a global citizen, and I take honour for that,” she said.

“We’re in Dubai, which is also a global city, because everyone from different parts of the world live here, celebrate Diwali here… so I’m super excited.”

Dubai is where her Indian, Arab, and North African fanbases converge, giving her a unique emotional foothold.

“Every time I step foot into Dubai… I always get to feel my fans personally and understand how much they support me… despite different backgrounds, cultures, language, religion, they come to support me and my art. And I’m very grateful.”

From Toronto to Qatar to the World

Fatehi’s love for South Asian culture started not in Mumbai but in a Toronto school classroom.

“It definitely all began when I was very young in Toronto… we used to celebrate South Asian month… we would wear the beautiful lehengas and saris and celebrate Diwali. So I was very much exposed to it at a very young age.”

Her multicultural identity now shapes her pan-global appeal — from Bollywood songs that outperform Taylor Swift online on YouTube, to a FIFA World Cup performance viewed by millions.

“I performed at the closing ceremony in Qatar for the last historic game between Argentina and France, and it was life changing for me, right?”

But she refuses to frame these milestones as destiny. They are the outcome of grind.

“I’m not trained in anything,” she admitted. “But I put in the hours, I put in the passion, I put in the intention, and that’s what you actually saw that day.”

Headlining Untold Festival — and dropping a new era

Now Fatehi is set to headline Dubai’s Untold Festival on November 7 — and she isn’t just performing. She’s debuting a new chapter.

“Untold this year has me and a bunch of amazing global DJs. I'm headlining November 7, so get your tickets, guys. I would love to see you on stage. I have two massive surprises during my performance, which I think you guys are gonna love… I’m also launching my new song on stage at the Untold Festival in Dubai, exclusively.”

Her upcoming single isn’t just a track — it’s a statement of allegiance to her growing fanbase of young women across continents.

“I created a song which is releasing November 7… and the song is called, What do I know? Just a girl. And it’s actually a song for the girlies. So I’m really excited for all my girly fans to hear it.”

What will she call her fandom? Like everything else, it will be strategic. And global.

“I don’t know… I’m still working on the name with my fans. Let’s see what we land on.”

While many celebrities brace against social media storms, Fatehi remains almost unnervingly composed.

“Anyone who’s in front of the camera gets trolled… whether it’s an actor, singer, dancer, a reporter, journalist, an influencer. But I don’t get much hate, actually, and I think I’m very grateful for that. I’ve been very, very accepted.”

Acceptance didn’t come from fitting a mold. It came from shattering the idea that one ever should.

And that is why Dubai makes sense for Nora Fatehi: a city that rewards never staying in one lane — the only place where an escalator can be a runway, a mall can be a global broadcast, and an artist can launch not just a song, but a new identity. But she keeps it real!

“I don’t want to trip and fall because I’m wearing like, the longest sari, but it’s a beautiful one,” she said with a laugh before taking her position. “We’re celebrating 30 years, and City Centre Deira is creating some of the most amazing celebrations. Today is 30 years. So we’re basically starting off the celebrations.”