Fatima, who started her journey in the movies as a child actor with Kamal Haasan’s 1997 film Chachi 420, gives credit to the rejections she faced for shifting her focus from waiting for a lead role to searching for a good character. “I have been a child actor. I quit but making a comeback after that was difficult. I was not getting any work. People used to tell me I don’t look like Deepika Padukone or Katrina Kaif. They said, since I didn’t have the looks of a heroine, I should do whatever I’m offered. There have been many incidents where I was told that I was not good enough,” Fatima said.
She made her Bollywood debut with Aamir Khan in Dangal, and Ms. Shaikh believes that era of superstars has ended with the ‘Khans’. Talking about how accessible actors are in today’s digital age, Fatima says, “The superstar era ended way back. After the ‘Khans’, I don’t think we will ever have superstars. Now we all are accessible but earlier the stars were not. We could not search them on social media or follow their lives. We were able to connect with them through their films and interviews.”
Her desire to come in front of the camera made her indifferent to what people think of her. “I only had acting on my mind. The reason why I used to go for every audition was because I would get to perform in front of the camera, even if the set-up was small,” the actress said. The success of Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal made things easier for Fatima and gave her the power to choose.
“Before Dangal, I never had the chance to choose my projects. I even did ‘Dangal’ because that was my only option at that time. Every actor goes through this. That’s how things function. But I am happy that post the film and especially after Thugs of Hindostan, I have the space to choose,” she says.
The actress even reveals that she does not believe in planning too much, “There is no single rule that applies to everyone. But now there are so many opportunities because of Netflix, Amazon and other platforms. Influx of different mediums has given actors a lot more options.” Fatima says.
Image Source:-Instagram/Fatima, Instagram/deepikapadukone, Instagram/katrinakaif
Image Source:-Instagram/Fatima, Instagram/deepikapadukone, Instagram/katrinakaif