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 (1997) 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 also has an older brother named Shaanib Sharma. 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. Years later, she played Zoya in the Indian drama film Tahaan, which received "The German Star of India award" at the Bollywood and Beyond festival at Stuttgart, Germany in 2009.
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". Both Malhotra and Shaikh went through five rounds of auditions, physical training and workshops with Tiwari and Aamir Khan. They were trained by coach and former wrestler Kripa Shankar Patel Bishnoi. Released in 2016, Dangal received critical acclaim and became the highest-grossing Indian film ever with earnings of more than worldwide. 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 + Year Title Role Notes 1997 Ishq Cameo appearance Child artist Chachi 420 Bharti Ratan 1999 Bade DilwalaBaby Sana 1999 KhoobsuratGudiya 2001 One 2 Ka 4Inspector Abbas' youngest daughter 2008 Tahaan Zoya 2012 Bittoo Boss Priya 2013 Akaash Vani Sumbul 2015 Nuvvu Nenu Okkatavudam Sruti Telugu film 2016Dangal Geeta Phogat 2018 Thugs of Hindostan Zafira Baig 2020Ludo Pinky Jain Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari Tulshi "Tina" Rane 2021 Ajeeb Daastaans Lipakshi Segment: "Majnu"2022TharChetna2023 Dhak Dhak Shashi "Sky" Kumar Yadav Sam Bahadur Indira Gandhi 2025 Metro... In Dino Shruti Shukla Arya Aap Jaisa Koi Madhu Bose Gustaakh Ishq Minni
Television + Year Title Role Notes 2002–2004Kitty Party 2009Ladies Special Geeti Shinde Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi KijoSuman2011Best of Luck NikkiRicha ShenoySpecial appearance in "Boys Meet Girls" 2022Modern Love Mumbai Lalzari "Lali" Segment: "Raat Rani"2026HunkkaarACP Jasleen Singh Soin2026 Amazon Prime Video series
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
References
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