Fatima Sana Shaikh

Fatima Sana Shaikh (born 11 January 1992) is an Indian actress, who works in Hindi films. Shaikh started her career as a child artist in such films as Chachi 420 and One 2 Ka 4 (2001). In 2016, she portrayed wrestler Geeta Phogat in the biopic Dangal, which went on to become the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time. She has since starred in the streaming projects Ludo (2020), Ajeeb Daastaans (2021) and Modern Love Mumbai (2022), and portrayed Indira Gandhi in the biographical drama Sam Bahadur (2023). For her performance in Dhak Dhak (2023), she was nominated for the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.

Early life Shaikh was born on 11 January 1992 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, and brought up in Mumbai. Her father Vipin Sharma, is a Hindu from Jammu and her mother Raj Tabassum, is a Muslim from Srinagar. Shaikh identifies as an atheist. She had gained experience in photography prior to becoming an actress.

Fatima has opened up about her personal experiences of living with epilepsy to help raise awareness of the neurological condition.

Career Shaikh began her career as a child artist in Chachi 420 and One 2 Ka 4.

Shaikh was selected for Nitesh Tiwari's biographical sports film Dangal along with Sanya Malhotra, who had never acted before. Shaikh was chosen to portray Geeta Phogat. To prepare for her role, she watched several videos on wrestling to understand "how wrestlers move, walk, their body language". Anupama Chopra stated in her review that Shaikh was "terrific" in the film.

In 2018, Shaikh played Zafira Baig, a warrior-archer thug in the epic action-adventure film, Thugs of Hindostan. It underperformed at the box office. In 2020, she first played a wife struggling for her husband's innocence in Ludo opposite Rajkummar Rao. She then played a traditional girl opposite Diljit Dosanjh in Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari. In 2021, Shaikh played an unhappy wife having an affair opposite Jaideep Ahlawat in Ajeeb Daastaans.

Shaikh had two releases in 2022. She first played a Kashmiri housemaid and a wife realising her worth in a segment of the series Modern Love Mumbai, opposite Bhupendra Jadawat. Anuj Kumar of The Hindu noted, "Fatima's performance makes her segment fly. Under Shonali's watch, she is both flower and fire at the same time." She then played a Rajasthani woman opposite Harshvardhan Kapoor in Thar. Taran Adarsh was appreciative of her lovely performance. The film earned her a nomination at the Filmfare OTT Awards for Best Actress in a Web Original Film.

Shaikh started 2023 with Dhak Dhak, where she played a female motorbike traveller. Her performance earned her nomination for Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. Following this, Shaikh portrayed Indira Gandhi alongside Vicky Kaushal and Sanya Malhotra in Sam Bahadur, a film based on the life of Sam Manekshaw. It was a moderate success at the box office. While Mayank Shekhar found her performance to be "admirable", Prannay Pathak was critical of her "unsteady portrayal".

In her first release of 2025, Shaikh played a working wife facing unplanned pregnancy opposite Ali Fazal in Metro... In Dino. Titas Chowdhury noted, "Fazal and Shaikh's chemistry is palpable and Fatima truly is a revelation". Later, she played a spirited French instructor opposite R. Madhavan in Aap Jaisa Koi.

Shaikh was ranked in The Times Most Desirable Women at No. 48 in 2020.

Filmography

Films

Television

Music videos + Year Title Singer Notes 2015 "Tujhse Meri" Aditya Salankar 2020 "Palkein Kholo" Vishal Bhardwaj Also director

Accolades Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2017 Screen Awards Best Actress – Popular Choice Dangal Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards Best Action Actress 2019 Thugs of Hindostan 2022 Filmfare OTT Awards Best Actor in a Web Original Film – Female Thar 2024 Filmfare Awards Best Actress – Critics Dhak Dhak