Fatima Sana Shaikh is hungry for stardom in a way that allows her to reinvent and challenge herself. Even after gaining recognition and praise for her performances so far, the actress feels she is still on a quest for roles that push her as a performer.
“For female actors, the range of roles available is still quite limited. We’re craving layered, grey and negative characters. I still haven’t found something that completely satisfies that need to explore and truly challenge myself as an actor,” she says.
She believes that it is this drive that’s needed to keep going in the film world. “Because I think if that ends, then your growth is stunted. That’s the beauty – or the drawback – of this industry. It’s Friday to Friday. No matter where you are in your career, you have to start again,” she says.
Speaking about valuing people who keep her grounded, Fatima says, “I wish I had at least one person in my life who would just say I’ve done a great job.” “My manager tells me ten things what I’ve not done right, and that’s good. These are the people who are my reality check. They are my mirrors. If I don’t have them, then I don’t know… it’s not a good place to be in. It’s a nice bubble to live in where people think you’re amazing, but it’s a bubble. It’s not that they are working for me; I am working for them. It’s a relationship,” she adds.
Fatima is unfiltered about being hungry for a bigger audience. “Everybody wants stardom. It’s basically people appreciating your work – a lot of people appreciating your work. They connect with you, either off screen or on screen, and you become someone they relate to or aspire to. I want to be that person. I hope I find my tribe and touch enough lives to receive that kind of love. But that can only happen with hard work, destiny and luck. You have to find the right film, the right thing,” she says.
The Dangal powerhouse states that she’s rarely satisfied with her work, indicating that there’s a lot more to her than what meets the eye. “I still question myself but in a positive way,” she says and continues, “I’m never happy with my performance. I feel I’m not good enough – but that helps me, though not in a self-deprecating way anymore.”
Fatima reveals how she channels self-doubt differently to make the most out of what she does now. “Earlier, it used to really stop me from being a better version of myself. It would affect my mental health. It would stop me from growing, from taking risks. Now that has shifted. I’m still questioning myself. I’m still not happy with whatever I do. But now, at least, it’s in a positive way. I’m taking that self-doubt to propel myself as an artiste rather than to put myself down,” she says.
Given the chameleon-like approach she brings to each of her characters and projects, the audience is eager to see the many shades of Fatima Sana Shaikh.
