Actor Fatima Sana Shaikh will be among the personalities attending NDTV Yuva 2026. Ahead of her appearance at the event, here’s a look back at her journey.
Career
Fatima Sana Shaikh has been a part of the Hindi film industry since childhood.
Born on January 11, 1992, in Hyderabad and raised in Mumbai, the actor began her career as a child artist with films such as Chachi 420 (1997) and One 2 Ka 4 (2001).
Years later, Shaikh returned to the big screen with a role in the 2008 film Tahaan, in which she played Zoya. The film received “The German Star of India Award” at the Bollywood and Beyond festival in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2009.
Shaikh’s major breakthrough came in 2016 with Nitesh Tiwari’s Dangal. She was cast as wrestler Geeta Phogat alongside Sanya Malhotra, who played Babita Phogat. Both actors went through five rounds of auditions, physical training and workshops with Tiwari and Aamir Khan before being selected for the film.
To prepare for the role, Shaikh watched several wrestling videos to understand “how wrestlers move, walk, their body language”. She and Malhotra were also trained by coach and former wrestler Kripa Shankar Patel Bishnoi.
Released in 2016, Dangal received critical acclaim and went on to become the highest-grossing Indian film ever, earning more than Rs 2,000 crore worldwide. Reviewing the film,
Following Dangal, Shaikh featured in the 2018 action-adventure film Thugs of Hindostan, where she played Zafira Baig, a warrior-archer. The film, however, underperformed at the box office.
In 2020, Shaikh appeared in Ludo, where she played a wife struggling to prove her husband’s innocence opposite Rajkummar Rao. She also starred opposite Diljit Dosanjh in Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari, playing a traditional woman.
The actor continued to explore different characters on streaming platforms. In 2021, she featured in Ajeeb Daastaans, playing an unhappy wife who has an affair with a character played by Jaideep Ahlawat.
Shaikh had two releases in 2022. In Modern Love Mumbai, she played a Kashmiri housemaid and a wife who begins to realise her worth.
She then appeared in Thar opposite Harshvardhan Kapoor, playing a Rajasthani woman. Taran Adarsh also praised her performance. The role earned Shaikh a nomination at the Filmfare OTT Awards for Best Actress in a Web Original Film.
In 2023, Shaikh starred in Dhak Dhak, where she played a female motorcycle traveller. Her performance earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.
The same year, she portrayed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Sam Bahadur, alongside Vicky Kaushal and Sanya Malhotra. The film was based on the life of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
Recent Releases
Shaikh returned to films in 2025 with Metro… In Dino, in which she played a working wife facing an unplanned pregnancy opposite Ali Fazal.
Later, she appeared in Aap Jaisa Koi, playing a spirited French instructor opposite R Madhavan.
Beyond her acting career, Shaikh has also spoken publicly about her personal experiences of living with epilepsy to raise awareness about the neurological condition. She has also worked as a photographer before pursuing acting.
Shaikh was ranked No. 48 on The Times Most Desirable Women list in 2020.
