Not Dangal, here’s the first film Fatima Sana Shaikh did with Aamir Khan

Although most of us link Fatima Sana Shaikh's debut to the 2016 hit Dangal, the actress recently dropped a bombshell about her initial career. During an interview on Bharti Singh and Harssh Limbachiyaa's podcast, Shaikh shared that her working relationship with Aamir Khan dates back by nearly two decades before the wrestling drama.

The actress narrated her childhood experience working as an artiste in the 1997 movie Ishq that featured Aamir Khan together with Kajol Juhi Chawla and Ajay Devgn. A scene from the film has gone viral on the internet, featuring Fatima as a child dressed in a pink frock who was being cradled by Kajol's arms during a scene together with Aamir.

Looking back at this early exposure Fatima revealed, "Bohot pehle wo Ishq film thi. Usme ek scene hai jahan pe Aamir jaata hai aise 'mara mara mara' karta hai aur saamne Kajol uske haath mein ek bacchi hoti hai toh voh bacchi main hun. Haan voh main hoon." This discovery provides insight into Fatima's longtime association with Bollywood and also, Aamir Khan.

While Dangal clearly represented her important introduction to popular film her stint in Ishq is an earlier uncredited but otherwise fruitful association with the respected thespian. Surprisingly Fatima later appeared in Thugs Of Hindostan alongside Khan Amitabh Bachchan and Katrina Kaif though the movie itself was not quite so successful as Dangal.

Apart from these films Fatima's resume as a child artiste also credits her with film appearances in the likes of Chachi 420, Bade Dilwala, and One 2 Ka 4. In the offing, Fatima Sana Shaikh has on the cards Anurag Basu's Metro...In Dino, Ul Jalool Ishq, alongside Vijay Varma and Naseeruddin Shah and Aap Jaisa Koi opposite R Madhavan.