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Having started her career as a child artiste, actor Fatima Sana Shaikh has worked in movies headlined by some of the biggest names in Indian cinema, including Shah Rukh Khan, Kamal Haasan, Aamir Khan, Tabu, Juhi Chawla and Abhishek Bachchan. While she played a key role in the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, Dangal (2016), Fatima also worked in one of Bollywood’s biggest disappointments of the last decade, Thugs of Hindostan (2018) — interestingly, both with Aamir Khan in the lead role. Recently, Fatima opened up about how the movie’s failure affected her, besides sharing her struggles with low self-esteem and lack of confidence, and her battle with imposter syndrome following the success of Dangal.
“There was a time when I didn’t want to work. I just wanted to go to Dharamshala, where I had rented a house for three or four months, and live there. My mindset had become such that I wanted to live alone, by the mountains, and open a cafe. I was searching for myself. While I wanted to chase a career and progress professionally, I was also figuring myself out. I didn’t know who I was,” she shared during a chat with Bollywood Bubble.
“Also, I was not confident, neither in my craft nor in myself. So, when I was offered solo (solo-lead) films, I felt that the truth would come out — that I’m not a good actor. I had such low levels of confidence,” she said, adding that therapy and the support of people around her have helped her improve her mental state now.
Fatima also credited filmmaker Anurag Basu with helping her rebuild her confidence. Having worked together on Ludo (2020) and the upcoming Metro… In Dino, she said, “However, even he doesn’t know what he did for me. We were shooting for Ludo, and by then, the production of Thugs of Hindostan had been completed. My confidence was very low. I would check with him for every decision I made as a performer. I couldn’t even tell whether what I was doing was good or not. He said, ‘Don’t doubt yourself this much; you are good. Go with your instincts—your instincts are right.’ Since those words came from someone I look up to, whose work I admire, and whom I believe is one of the best directors for actors, something started changing in me,” she added.
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The actor further spoke about the professional setbacks she faced after the failure of Thugs of Hindostan. “As a director, if one of their films flops, it becomes difficult for them to make their next movie. The same is true for actors — you will be removed from a few films. That happened to me too. After Thugs of Hindostan flopped, I was removed from two movies. However, I don’t take these things personally and see them as part of the business. So, I understand why a producer would do that (replace an actor whose recent work didn’t perform well),” Fatima mentioned.
When asked whether Aamir Khan taking responsibility for the failure of Thugs of Hindostan made a difference, Fatima explained that it didn’t matter and that the responsibility was collective. “When a movie becomes a hit, even those who played the smallest role receive respect. And when the movie flops, it’s a setback for everyone. For some, it might not matter because they already have a massive line-up. But for me, that wasn’t the case. I had nothing lined up, except Ludo,” she added. Helmed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, Thugs of Hindostan also featured Amitabh Bachchan and Katrina Kaif in key roles.
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