# Fatima Sana Shaikh

Fatima Sana Shaikh (born 11 January 1992) is an Indian actress, who works in Hindi films. Shaikh appeared 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 top-grossing sports film Dangal. 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).

## Early and personal life

Fatima Sana Shaikh was born on 11 January 1992 born and brought up in Mumbai. Her mother, Raj Tabassum, is from Srinagar, and her father, Vipin Sharma, is from Jammu. Shaikh identifies as an atheist. She had received experience in photography prior to becoming an actress.
The actress 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 "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 ₹2,000 crore (US$230 million) worldwide.
She played Zafira Baig, a warrior-archer Thug in the epic action-adventure film, Thugs of Hindostan. Shaikh portrayed Indira Gandhi, along with Vicky Kaushal and Sanya Malhotra in Sam Bahadur (2023) based on the life of Sam Manekshaw directed by Meghna Gulzar.Shaikh will be featuring in a Hindi remake of Tamil movie Aruvi which will be produced by Applause Entertainment.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |

### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | Ishq | Cameo | As child artist |
| 1997 | Chachi 420 | Bharti Ratan | As child artist |
| 1999 | Bade Dilwala | Baby Sana | As child artist |
| 1999 | Khoobsurat | Gudiya | As child artist |
| 2001 | One 2 Ka 4 | Inspector Abbas' youngest daughter | As child artist |
| 2008 | Tahaan | Zoya | |
| 2012 | Bittoo Boss | Priya | |
| 2013 | Akaash Vani | Sumbul | |
| 2015 | Nuvvu Nenu Okkatavudam | Sruti | Telugu film |
| 2016 | Dangal | Geeta Phogat | |
| 2018 | Thugs of Hindostan | Zafira Baig | |
| 2020 | Ludo | Pinky | |
| 2020 | Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari | Tulshi Rane | |
| 2021 | Ajeeb Daastaans | Lipakshi | |
| 2022 | Thar | Chetna | |
| 2023 | Dhak Dhak | Shashi "Sky" Kumar Yadav | |
| 2023 | Sam Bahadur | Indira Gandhi | |
| 2025 | Metro... In Dino | TBA | Filming |
| 2025 | Ul Jalool Ishq † | TBA | Completed |
| 2025 | Aap Jaisa Koi † | Madhu Bose | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002–2004 | Kitty Party | Unknown | |
| 2009 | Ladies Special | Geeti | Season 1 |
| 2009 | Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo | Suman | Recurring role |
| 2011 | Best of Luck Nikki | Richa Shenoy | Special appearance in Boys Meet Girls |
| 2022 | Modern Love Mumbai | Lalzari | Segment: "Raat Rani" |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Singer | Ref. |
| 2015 | "Tujhse Meri" | Aditya Salankar | |
| 2020 | "Palkein Kholo" | Vishal Bhardwaj | |

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2017 | Screen Awards | Best Actress (Popular) | Dangal | Nominated |
| 2017 | Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards | Best Action Actress | Dangal | Won |
| 2022 | Filmfare OTT Awards | Best Actor in a Web Original Film (Female) | Thar | Nominated |
| 2024 | 69th Filmfare Awards | Best Actress (Critics) | Dhak Dhak | Nominated |

## Media

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