Jun 22, 2025 08:59 PM IST
In a recent interview, Fatima Sana Shaikh spoke about how main leads are treated better than side characters in Bollywood and said this.
Actor Fatima Sana Shaikh got candid about the treatment new and side actors get on a Bollywood film set, especially if they’re not from film families. In an interview with Humans of Bombay, she also spoke about how a co-star of hers tried to hog attention, even during filming. (Also Read: Fatima Sana Shaikh says her comment about casting couch in South films was ‘blown up’: It wasn’t as big a deal)
Fatima Sana Shaikh on being treated like ‘2nd grade’
Fatima was asked about positions of power in Bollywood and was asked if side actors are treated like ‘second grade’ when a star is on set. She said, “It hundred percent happens, nepotism exists in every industry. I have played character actors, I have played small actors, I’ve experienced the difference. I am very mindful. If I’m on a set and if there’s somebody who’s a character actor or fairly new, I’m very respectful. That’s my responsibility. I don’t want anybody to experience what I have. In instances where I’ve been made to feel small, I don’t want to do the same to others. It’s unnecessary to be badtameez (mannerless) to people.”
In a different segment of the interview during the rapid-fire round, Fatima was asked if she had a co-star who gave her a ridiculous note. The actor revealed that while that didn’t happen, she did have a co-star who loved to hog attention. “I have had a co-actor who tried to make every scene about themselves. Every scene is written for a particular character, and if you make it about yourself, it makes the scene flat. It’s irritating. When you’re doing a scene and aap aise koni mar mar ke aage ja rahe ho (you’re trying to elbow your way to the front). The scene isn’t even yours,” she said. She also accidentally let it slip that she was talking about a female co-star.
Upcoming work
After working as a child artist in films like Ishq and Chachi 420, Fatima debuted as a lead actor with the 2008 film Tahaan. However, her claim to fame is the 2016 film Dangal, which saw Aamir Khan, Sanya Malhotra, Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar as her co-stars.
She will soon star in Metro… In Dino, which will be released in theatres on 4 July, apart from Gustaakh Ishq and Aap Jaisa Koi. Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Jalak Thacker, Konkona Sen Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi, Neena Gupta and Anupam Kher are her co-stars in Metro…In Dino.
