Admitting that she lacked confidence to portray Indira Gandhi, Fatima states Sam Bahadur director Meghna Gulzar’s faith motivated her
A still from the film
How does it feel to go from Dhak Dhak to playing the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Sam Bahadur? Daunting, admits Fatima Sana Shaikh. “I was nervous when I got the role, I didn’t know if I could pull it off. The personality of this character felt too big for me. She exists in public memory distinctly,” says the actor. Today, as she is seen standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Vicky Kaushal—who plays Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw—in the trailer, she attributes it to director Meghna Gulzar. “When I told Meghna I wasn’t sure [about doing the part], she told me to trust her. I didn’t have faith in myself, but she did. She handed me the entire research material.”
Meghna Gulzar
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From Lara Dutta in Bell Bottom (2021) to Kangana Ranaut in the upcoming Emergency, several actors have attempted the role of the Iron Lady of India. Shaikh says Gulzar didn’t make her use prosthetics to look the part. “Every time we’ve seen people play Indira Gandhi, we have seen them with prosthetics. My natural features were manipulated by the make-up artists to achieve the look. I had nothing to hide behind. Every day I asked Meghna if I did alright, and she’d say she got what she wanted. It was a learning process to let my instincts lie low and surrender to the director’s grand vision.”
Sam Bahadur’s trailer showcases an interesting track—a phase when Gandhi suspected Manekshaw of planning a coup against her. The actor admits that early on, she knew very little about Manekshaw. “Movies are critical in making you discover real-life heroes. A film like this will inspire the younger generation. Sometimes, you need a storyteller with the right intent to say it with dignity and grace.”
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