Fatima Sana Shaikh Talks About the Need to Break Out of a Stereotypical Idea of a Female Lead: "We Don’t See Women in Comedy Films"

Fatima Sana Shaikh has been unapologetic and daring with her on-screen choices. From Dangal to Sam Bahadur to the recent release Aap Jaisa Koi, Fatima has portrayed roles that show a daring shade of women, with a natural soft side to it. Recently, the actress opened up about what attracted her to play the unapologetic Madhu in Aap Jaisa Koi - and her reason throws light on an actor’s drive that boosts reinvention.

Fatima says, “After Dangal, I got a lot of roles like that (empowering), and I didn’t want to do it in the sense that - when people think of strong women, they think of aggressive women. I don’t know why! Just because we know what we want and we voice for equality does not mean we will fight with men, or we want to fight, or we want to smoke a cigarette. The idea is very stereotypical. We don’t want to do that. There is so much more; it’s about how we think and how we hold a space as women. We don’t see that in films.”

Speaking further about carefully picking roles and shattering the walls of predictability, Fatima adds, “I don’t need to do a film that’s dependent on a topic or is issue-related. It’s okay if I’m doing a comedy film, but we don’t see women in comedy films. That’s so rare and sad, because we also have good comic timing. Fortunately, I have done such roles. But women-led films are far and few in the commercial sense. Fatima concluded with her take on the need to reinvent as an actress. She shared, “When I started it all, it was different, and now it is very different. Your relevance keeps changing. I’m exciting today, and tomorrow I won’t be. Two films have come along; it could be my luck. People are interested in me again. But, that’s the game.

Going by her drive to reinvent with each project, Fatima Sana Shaikh looks geared up with her lineup of films. She is all set with her next project, she is  collaborating with Vijay Varma for Gustaakh Ishq, for which she sparked curiosity by dropping an intense look from the project. Following this, Fatima also has an untitled project with Roy Kapoor Films, and another untitled courtroom drama in her kitty.