Born on January 11, 1992, Fatima Sana Shaikh was born in Hyderabad to a Hindu father and a Muslim mother. Fatima was only five when she acted with south superstar Kamal Haasan in the 1997 film Chachi 420 as his little girl, Bharti. (All photos/Fatima Sana Shaikh's official Instagram account and mid-day archives)

However, you will be surprised to know that Fatima Sana Shaikh hardly has any memories of her first acting experience. "I don't remember much about working with Kamal Haasan sir as I was too small. I remember I had a great time. As a child you are innocent, you don't think about acting, you are just there and do it," said Fatima.

After Chachi 420, Fatima Sana Shaikh also featured in Ishq, Bade Dilwala and went on to play Jackie Shroff's daughter in One 2 Ka 4 which also starred Shah Rukh Khan.

Before gaining popularity with her role as Geeta Phogat in Dangal, Fatima appeared in various television series and also did bit roles in films like Tahaan (2008), Bittoo Boss (2012) and Akaash Vani (2013).

Fatima Sana Shaikh had revealed that getting a perfect launch pad with Dangal was not a cakewalk.

'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,' Fatima told PTI in an interview.

However, Fatima's desire to become an actor was so strong that she did not pay heed to what people thought of her.

Fatima was quoted saying, '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.'

And her determination did not go to waste. Fatima Sana Shaikh savoured overnight popularity and visibility as wrestler Geeta Phogat in Dangal, which starred Aamir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Sanya Malhotra and Aparshakti Khurrana in pivotal roles.

But, Fatima Sana Shaikh's struggle did not end after Dangal as well. Even though she has been working with the best of talent since childhood, nothing came to her without a share of struggle.

Her first film was with Kamal Haasan, and then in Dangal, she had Aamir play her onscreen father. Her next was Thugs of Hindostan, which got bigger with Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan sharing screen space for the first time.

But for Fatima, getting the film was 'as difficult' as getting Dangal.

'Chachi 420 happened when I was a child, and then I had to struggle again, I gave so many auditions. All this has come to me, but it came to me with a lot of effort... The struggle never ends. After Dangal, I was back to square one. For Thugs... also, I had to go through multiple rounds of auditions till I got the film. So, we can do several films, but every film will be like a first - at least it is so for me because you start from scratch,' said Fatima.

Despite the presence of industry giants, Thugs of Hindostan fizzled out and both audiences and critics wrote it off for its weak storyline and direction.

Fatima Sana Shaikh has had a couple of films over the last few years and all are of different genres, which has given a chance to the audience to watch the different avatars of Fatima Sana Shaikh. The titles include Ludo, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari and Thar. 

Fatima Sana Shaikh starred in Ludo, directed by Anurag Basu, which had an ensemble cast including Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Sanya Malhotra, Aditya Roy Kapur and Pankaj Tripathi. Produced by Bhushan Kumar and Anurag Basu, the film premiered on Netflix and opened to rave reviews.

After Ludo, she was seen in Abhishek Sharma rom-com Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari, which also starred Manoj Bajpayee and Diljit Dosanjh. The film released in cinemas in December 2020 and completed 50 days theatrically. 

Fatima Sana Shaikh has done a versatile bunch of films earlier and her upcoming lineup seems like the actress has a varied taste in film genres.

Talking about the same Fatima Sana Shaikh shared, 'Honestly I don't know what I am good at. I have not done much. But I want to try different things and explore every genre, be it drama, romance or thriller. I don't want to restrict myself. Now, there are so many options for actors to explore. I like to be a part of films which even I would like to see rather than doing movies which I don't enjoy watching.'

On the personal front, Fatima Sana Shaikh is a fitness freak, she has even dabbled in photography and loves traveling.

The actress's Instagram handle is also a delight for her followers as she keeps sharing photos and videos of her dancing her heart out. Yes, she loves dancing too.

Another hidden talent of this Thugs of Hindostan actress is - she loves doodling.

Apart from this, the actress is also good at photography and her social media is a testimony of different talents the actress possesses.

Fatima Sana Shaikh has garnered a huge fan base across the nation. She recently breached the 2.8 million followers mark on Instagram and is quite active on social media.