After the ‘Khans’, I don’t think we will ever have superstars: Fatima Sana Shaikh on the end of superstar era

Fatima Sana Shaikh who is fairly old in Bollywood owing to her acting career since she was a child feels that the superstar era has ended. Talking about how accessible stars are in today’s age and time, she said, “The superstar era ended way back. After the ‘Khans’, I don’t think we will ever have superstars. Now we all are accessible but earlier the stars were not. We could not search them on social media or follow their lives. We were able to connect with them through their films and interviews.”

Fatima started acting with 1997 film ‘Chachi 420’ with Kamal Haasan. She quit the industry and then made a comeback now. She faced rejections and waited for a long time before coming back. She said, “I have been a child actor. I quit but making a comeback after that was difficult. I was not getting any work. People used to tell me I don’t look like Deepika Padukone or Katrina Kaif. They said, since I didn’t have the looks of a heroine, I should do whatever I’m offered. There have been many incidents where I was told that I was not good enough.”

This did not stop her though. She wanted to be in front of the camera and she was sure of it. Fatima said, “I only had acting on my mind. The reason why I used to go for every audition was because I would get to perform in front of the camera, even if the set-up was small.” The success of Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal, however, made things easier for Fatima as it gave her the option to choose.

“Before Dangal, I never had the chance to choose my projects. I even did ‘Dangal’ because that was my only option at that time. Every actor goes through this. That’s how things function. But I am happy that post the film and especially after Thugs of Hindostan, I have the space to choose,” she said.