Elnaaz Norouzi says she’s Iranian, will never truly belong to India: ‘I’ve to constantly prove myself’

There’s a plethora of Indian actors who’ve migrated to the country from other lands and have been embraced with open arms, even being plunged into the heights of superstardom. But then there are also a few like Imran Khan, an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), who, though born in the US, has spent most of his life in India, but faces a diktat to leave the country for participating in the recent Mumbai protests. Elnaaz Norouzi, born in Iran, raised in Germany, and who now lives and works in India, admits she feels like a headless chicken, although she sees herself as an “Iranian-German-Indian”, or quite simply, a “global citizen”.

Elnaaz Norouzi on the perils of belonging

“Most of my life, I’ve felt like I don’t belong. And that’ll happen with anybody who doesn’t live in the country they’re born in. That’s natural,” Elnaaz tells SCREEN in an exclusive interview. After being born in Iran and living there for eight years, her family had to flee to Germany, given the rising geopolitical tension in her homeland. “I had to move to another country where I had to prove that I belong there. I do see myself as a German in a lot of ways because my upbringing was very German. But right when I’d proved myself in Germany, I relocated to India and prove myself all over again,” she recalls.

“Forever and ever, I’ll belong to Iran no matter where I go. Even though I live in India now, I’ll never ever truly belong here because it’s not the country I was born in. Do I see and accept it as my country, and call it home? Always, a hundred per cent. And I’ll always call Germany my home as well,” she argues. Navigating the Indian film industry was no cakewalk, because just like the ecosystem that it’s surrounded by, it’s also a man’s world. “To put on your ‘man’s hat’ to deal with them is important, while not losing your femininity. It’s tough because some days, you feel like, ‘Okay, I’m just a guy’ because you’re dealing with so many men,” Elnaaz laments.

But the actor has made a career out of holding her own in front of men. Whether it was her acting debut in India, Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane’s 2018 Netflix India crime thriller show Sacred Games or calling out filmmaker Vipul Shah during the #MeToo movement, her career hasn’t been devoid of making her presence felt among a sea of men. “You just have to learn to deal with men. Men have their own way of doing things, just like women do. Women need to learn how to handle men and vice versa. It’s been so many years that we haven’t learnt just how to co-exist and work together,” she says.

Even as she makes her debut as a lead actor in a Hollywood film, Guy Moshe’s The Fix, she had to work overtime to ensure it also releases in India this past Friday, October 26. “I put the production in touch with PVR, who are really good friends of mine. There also, it’s been around men constantly. It does get a little tiring sometimes because I do see how people, mostly men, underestimate me many times. I don’t blame people because I guess that’s just how the world is for a tall, good-looking woman. People think that’s all there’s to you. When I show them what I’m about, I do see a change in their behaviour. But I guess you just have to go through that. There’s nothing I’ll be able to change in the world because that’s just how the world is. So, I guess the idea is to just fight through that,” says Elnaaz, with a shrug of her shoulders.

Elnaaz Norouzi in The Fix.

It’s this very male gaze that’s stopped her from making her mark as an actor in mainstream Bollywood. Reduced to a prototype, she’s mostly been roped in to perform in ‘item’ songs like “Dupatta” from Jugjugg Jeeyo and “Kala Shah Kala” from Rashtra Kavach Om (2022) or sex comedies like Milap Zaveri’s Mastiii 4 last year. But Elnaaz doesn’t mind the stereotyping as long as she gets enough chances to prove her mettle as an actor. “You can do the Sacred Games of the world, and you can do the songs of the world. Why can’t you do both?,” she argues, adding, “I remember clearly that Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap were looking for the Sacred Games role for more than three months! They were looking at different actors from all over India, but weren’t able to find the person who’d fit into that character. So, I’m obviously very honoured that out of all these great actors, I was chosen for the role.”

She claims that she sees doing all the ‘item’ songs as a form of riyaaz. “Whatever you do as an artist, it’s taking you one step ahead. It’s learning by doing. So, I’m grateful for all of them,” she says. But quoting her performances in Sacred Games, Made in Heaven season 2, and most recently, The Fix, she asserts that those looking for an actor will also find one in her. “If what they’re looking for is the pretty, tall woman who can dance, then you’ll find me in the roles where I’m just doing that, where only that is necessary. Being able to do both is also great,” says Elnaaz. Which is why the actor, though not born or raised in India, has worked extremely hard on her language and accent.

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“It’s been tough, I’m not going to lie. Obviously, I get roles where you’ve to be an NRI or have a little bit of a foreign touch. There are more roles for Indians than there are for non-Indians. But I’ve played Indians before. I’ve played a Punjabi girl who grew up in London. In Ranneeti (2024), I play an Indian undercover in Pakistan,” she points out, attributing that to her drive to be able to dub for herself, right since Sacred Games. “It’s tough, which just means you’ve to be at par with other Indian actors in terms of the language, acting, and dancing. And even then, you’ll still be a lot behind in the line. But that happens in this industry, as an outsider. Either you accept and live with it, or you say, ‘It’s not my thing,’ and leave,” she adds.

On waving the Iranian flag across the globe

But having lived in different parts of the world has also helped her belong to a number of film industries. She made her international breakthrough with a key role in Moshe Zonder’s 2022 spy thriller show Tehran on Apple TV, which became the first Israeli series to win an International Emmy Award for the best drama series. She followed that up with a part in Ric Roman Waugh’s 2023 Hollywood espionage thriller Kandahar alongside Gerard Butler, before finally grabbing her maiden lead role in a Hollywood project with The Fix, also starring another seasoned action star Liam Neeson.

“They’re just really down-to-earth, lovely people to know, be around, and work with. Every time I think, ‘Wow, these are huge superstars I’m getting to work with,’ I just realize they’re normal human beings like all of us as well. They’re just really big superstars because they’re really good at doing what they do. It’s just an honour for me to share screen space with these people,” says Elnaaz. While holding her own even internationally in these testosterone-charged action vehicles, Elnaaz more often than not ends up being cast in spy stories set in or around Iran. She acknowledges the pattern, but also claims she won’t shy away from owning it.

Elnaaz Norouzi in Tehran.

“Unfortunately, with everything that’s happened politically in the country, that is what Iran is right now. The Fix is also based on a true story. What you see in The Fix is history. We had a former CIA agent who had lived and gone through this. When you see shows like Tehran and Fauda, they’re based on true stories,” says Elnaaz. “Does it break my heart that Iran had to go through 44 years of dictatorship to cause everything that broke and hurt the people of that country? Yes, but do we have to tell the stories so that the world knows? Also yes. So, I’m actually happy I can be one of the actors who are connected with shows and films being made about my country, so I can bring the voices of the people, who are very much voiceless right now, to the world through art,” she adds.

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A major chunk of her inspiration also comes from the Iranian film industry, which finds a way through all the oppression to come out with gems that even compete for Academy Awards. “Iranian people are very resilient. We don’t like to be told what to do, and how to do it. Of course, when it’s forced on you, then you have to. But when these filmmakers find a way to bring the stories and voices of people in Iran out in the best form, it’s really beautiful. I remember Jafar Panahi, one of our really good filmmakers, was banned from directing films. He went and made another amazing film, Taxi (2015), as the actor in the film. It was a documentary kind of film that showed the day-to-day lives of Iran,” says Elnaaz.

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If Iranian cinema gives her strength, Bollywood gave her hope when she needed it the most — right after fleeing to Germany from Iran.  “Bollywood really took me away from the pain my family and I were in for leaving our family and home behind, and going to a country which, at the time, was really racist and didn’t accept us with open arms. The fact they gave us asylum is inviting us with open arms, but the people weren’t really sure about us because we fled from another country. So, I understand the Germans that way,” confesses Elnaaz, before adding with a smile, “But Bollywood just put me in this dreamland. I used to love that world. Morning to night, I’d listen to Bollywood music. I was so immersed in the romance of Bollywood movies that I forgot everything else that had happened.”