The way Fatima Sana Shaikh was offered Metro… In Dino could be a scene straight out of one of Anurag Basu’s slice-of-life films — imagine the lead character getting an all-important phone call, but being unable to hear anything due to poor network. “When Dada [Basu] called to talk about Metro, he started describing the story and my character. Because of poor network, I could hardly hear him. I could only catch random words like ‘this girl, that boy’. So, I kept saying, ‘Hmmm,’” laughs Shaikh, as she recalls the episode. At the end of the patchy call, she agreed to do the film. She explains, “I didn’t need a narration. With him, you surrender.”

(From left) Ali Fazal and Fatima Sana Shaikh in Metro... In Dino

This faith comes from having worked with Basu on Ludo (2020). That was enough for Shaikh to know that the filmmaker doesn’t waste his actors. That’s one of the reasons he could put together the impressive ensemble cast — Neena Gupta, Anupam Kher, Konkona Sensharma, Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Sara Ali Khan — for Metro... In Dino. “Big or small, all his characters have depth. He never wastes an actor. Also, he won’t mislead you, saying, ‘Itna bada character hai.’ He is honest,” says Shaikh.