-
31 Oct 2020
Fatima Sana Shaikh reveals she was molested at age three
-
Bollywood actor Fatima Sana Shaikh has revealed that she was sexually abused as a three-year-old.
She, in an interview with Pinkvilla, also opened up about how she carved a niche for herself in Bollywood, and faced issues of casting couch and sexism in film industry.
The 28-year-old added she hopes for a better future.
Here's more on what she said.
-
Quote
'I hope the world changes'
-
"I was molested when I was just three years old. There is a stigma around the whole sexual abuse issue, which is why women...don't open up about being exploited in life. But I hope, today the world changes (sic)," the actor said.
-
Details
Fatima said she faced a lot of rejection
-
Fatima, who started her career as a child artist in 1997 with Kamal Haasan's Chachi 420 and made her debut in a lead role with Aamir Khan-starrer sports film Dangal in 2016, said that she faced a lot of rejection in her career.
"You don't look like Deepika, you don't look like Aishwarya. How will you be a heroine?" Fatima said she was told.
-
Quote
'But now, there are opportunities for people like me'
-
"That's the standard of beauty they subscribe to...And I clearly don't fall in that bracket, I fall into a different bracket. But there are opportunities now, there are films being made for people like me, who don't look like supermodels, who look normal, average (sic)."
-
Casting Couch
She also talked about casting couch in Bollywood
![She also talked about casting couch in Bollywood]( "She also talked about casting couch in Bollywood")
-
Opening up about rampant sexism and casting couch in the industry, Fatima revealed, "I have faced people telling me that the only way to get a job is through sex. So that has also happened to me. I have lost jobs to someone else for whatever reason."
She added that apart from the film industry, sexism exists in other industries as well.
-
Work
Fatima is awaiting release of two interesting projects
![Fatima is awaiting release of two interesting projects]( "Fatima is awaiting release of two interesting projects")
-
Fatima was last seen in 2018 adventure film Thugs of Hindostan. She is now looking forward to two back-to-back releases.
She will next be seen in Anurag Basu's crime thriller Ludo, co-starring Rajkummar Rao, Abhishek Bachchan and others. The film will premiere on Netflix on November 12.
The actor also has comedy movie Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari in the pipeline.
