From the super cute kid in Chachi 420 to playing Geeta Phogat in Dangal, the beautiful Fatima Sana Shaikh has always won our hearts with her acting skills. Her latest release, Tarun Dudeja’s Dhak Dhak, starring Ratna Pathak Shah, Dia Mirza, and Sanjana Sanghi in lead roles, is a story of four women who have gone through different journeys and come from different economic, and social spaces. How they come together and help each other heal and discover themselves forms the crux of the movie. We speak with Fatima about the film and more.
How much did you enjoy working on the film?
I think the film was offered to me a year ago and I was travelling. But the moment I got to know about the role I told them that I was doing this. It was the role that I was most excited about since it was not the most likeable character for me. So, it’s nice to play characters which are interesting and different. For me, Sky was an unknown entity because I am not a content creator and the journeys and expectations are different. They go through a different kind of anxiety. There are similarities with actors but for content creators, their online presence can get extremely toxic. So I learnt about their perspectives and experiences through this movie too.
And how was working with the cast?
It was a lot of fun. Dia Mirza is like a national crush. If you’ve ever gotten a chance to speak with her,
there’s such calmness, such gravity. Since she’s an activist for climate change, she’s so much in touch with reality making her an extremely empathetic person. Ratna Pathak Shah is so fun, playful, and feisty at the same time. And that’s so lovely to see that she is still so affected by what she is doing and if her work is good or not. Everything around her is related to acting and that’s so inspiring. And Sanjana is a very sweet girl. She was hardworking and it was nice working with her.
As you mentioned, the character was very different from what you are. So, how did you cope up or how did you prepare for the role?
Once I get the script, and the character, I read it and I can add my own experiences and nuances but in the end have to modulate everything the way the script demands, to avoid overdoing the character. None
of the characters that I’ve played are like me and they will never be me because I’m evolving every day.
I cannot bring myself into every character that I play and I also do not take these characters home. So
but that’s my process. I don’t know exactly what that is though...I’m still figuring it out.
And how about riding a bike?
I have been riding since I was a kid. So, I was lucky that because of the film I got to ride in the mountains. And when you ride in the mountains, it’s extremely humbling. You realise how small you are on this planet, and how big and how overpowering nature is. The mountains are so sturdy and big, that it is intimidating at times, but at the same time, it makes you feel one with nature.
Upcoming works in the pipeline?
Apart from Sam Bahadur and Metro…In Dino, I am doing two films and one show and I am excited about it. But I cannot talk about it right now.
What was it like playing Indira Gandhi in Sam Bahadur?
Meghna (Gulzar) came up to me and offered me this film and I was very nervous but she just said two
words, “Trust me”, and I was in because at the end, she’s a director that I’ve been following and I love
her work. I read a lot about Indira. I read about the time when the revolution was happening. And because you’re playing these real-life characters, you’re curious to know the background stories of these personalities too. And while I read history more and more, I realised that there’s so much more to the world than just phones and social media.
We have many child actors not pursuing it as a profession when they grow up. Was yours a conscious decision or it just happened?
No, it just happened. I don’t know what happened to the rest and what worked and didn’t work for them. For me, I didn’t want to act as a child actor so I stopped working. I continued with my studies but I was horrible. I failed my 9th, I barely passed my 12th and after that, I couldn’t study. I was more into
fine arts and I wanted to study that but at that time we could not afford fine arts. So, I went back to acting, started giving auditions and realised that this was something that I genuinely enjoyed. And since then, one project has happened after the other.
How are you festive styling this year?
Sari is the go-to thing for me. I love saris. It’s the best. If I’m going somewhere, I don’t know what to
wear, I wear a sari. You cannot go wrong with it.