When Jacqueline Fernandez called Nora Fatehi a better belly dancer than Katrina Kaif: ‘You will go very far’

They may be embroiled in a legal battle now but once upon a time, Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi were on very good terms. Back in 2016, when Nora was starting out on her showbiz journey, she competed in the ninth season of talent reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Jacqueline was one of the judges at that time and she would constantly praise Nora and her dancing skills. Also read: Jacqueline will respond to Nora’s defamation suit to protect her dignity: lawyer

Nora was one of the contestants on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9, right after she gained popularity from her appearance on Bigg Boss 9 the preceding year. During her audition, Nora wowed the judges, particularly Jacqueline Fernandez. The actor said, “My goodness! You are really hot. Your performance was extremely hot. More than hot actually, you are a good performer. You are very hardworking and it really shows. You will go very far and I am really looking forward to it.” A flustered Nora responded, “It means a lot coming from you.”

The bonhomie continued through the season. Later in the season, on the Bollywood special episode, Nora performed a belly dance to Mashallah from Ek Tha Tiger. The original dance featured Katrina Kaif. Following her act, Jacqueline called Nora ‘a better belly dancer than Katrina’, which led to a shocked Nora cupping her face with her hands. Jacqueline even gave Nora a hug on stage. Nora did not win the show but went on to gain popularity from it.

She was flooded with dance numbers from Bollywood with her big break coming in 2018 with the song Dilbar in the film Satyamev Jayate. The following year, she had a cameo in Salman Khan’s Bharat followed by a larger role in Street Dancer 3D. In 2022, five years after she appeared on the show as a contestant, Nora returned to Jhalak, but as a judge.

Last year, both Nora and Jacqueline found themselves embroiled in a ₹200-crore extortion case linked to conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. The Enforcement Directorate questioned both actors multiple times and even named Jacqueline an accused in their supplementary chargesheet. Earlier this week, Nora filed a defamation suit against Jacqueline for allegedly ‘dragging her name’ in the case. Jacqueline’s lawyers have called the charges baseless.