Iranian beauty Elnaaz Norouzi, who recently announced her being a part of Made in Heaven season 2, shares some exclusive tidbits about getting on board for the project and her take on marriage.
Tejal Sinha
Elnaaz Norouzi possesses all of the qualities required to reach the pinnacle of achievement. Elnaaz Norouzi is a name to keep an eye out for in the coming days and months, as her looks suit her acting talent and vice versa.
After enrapturing hearts with her previous stints in Sacred Games, Abhay, Rashtra Kavach Om, Hello Charlie, and Kandahar, to name a few, she’s all set to woo us all by starring in Made in Heaven season 2. The news of the actress’s appearance in the second season is a special gift from the actress to her fans. In an exclusive chat with The Pioneer, she exclaims about how words would fall short for her to describe her excitement. “Made in Heaven has been a super hit series, and then there is Zoya. It’s like a dream to work with her and be directed by her, and I was directed by her. Thinking about the fact that I am such an outsider here and I got a chance to work with directors like Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, and now Zoya, after you know all of these big directors who I had a chance to work with in my career, is just pure excitement.”
When Made in Heaven season 1 was announced, actress Sonam Kapoor was initially approached to play the main lead, which was further played by Sobhita Dhulipala. According to several reports, though Sonam Kapoor loved the script, due to her wedding commitments. Now, with season 2, we get an exclusive update that the actress was supposed to do an episode, which is now being done by Elnaaz. Well, she says, “Basically, I know that Sonam Kapoor was supposed to be in that episode. She was supposed to be the bride, or I think they had gone to Sonam for it. I don’t really know what it was—if she was pregnant or not—but it didn’t really work out. And then I auditioned, and I remember I was in Germany at the time; it was during Corona. I put myself into it and sent it to India, and I just remember that they said back to me that ‘Zoya really liked my audition’. I didn’t really think it was going to happen because they were looking at an actor like Sonam Kapoor, who is a great actress. I thought I might just not get the project. I gave my 100 percent because I always wanted to work at Made in Heaven. In fact, Zoya was like, Who is this great actress? Why don’t I know her? (she laughs).”
Without revealing much of the details about her character, the Kandahar actress did state that Zoya Akhtar did make some changes that could go well with Elnaaz. “There was not really much preparation that went into playing the character. We all—me, Reema, Zoya, the writers, and my co-actors sat down and read a lot. Coming to my co-actor, I cannot reveal who it is (she giggles), but our characters are very close to real life. So we didn’t really have to prepare much. The most interesting thing while we were shooting was that it was shot outside of the country. In my episodes, there are so many answers to the big, fat lies at grand weddings that the whole nation is obsessed with. Well (she giggles), you’ll have to wait for it and watch.”
On a lighter note, Made in Heaven portrays today’s India as a blend of old and new, where tradition and modern aspirations are at loggerheads. The show and the protagonists’ narratives play out against the backdrop of lavish and expensive weddings. So, what’s our Iranian beauty’s take on marriage? Signing off on the conversation, she says, “Obviously, it’s really stressful, and there is a lot happening behind the scenes. Even though I am not a person who is like, ‘Oh! I want to get married and have kids’. But somehow I still believe in marriage, and I really want to get married. I do think I will want to have a big fat Indian wedding for sure.”
