'Shikara' actress Sadia Khateeb is choosy about her next role

Jammu and Kashmir-born actor Sadia Khateeb, who made waves with her portrayal of a displaced Kashmiri Pandit woman in the Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s movie Shikara last year, says she is taking extra care while choosing her film.

Sadia says since she is not from a filmy family and had no links or mentor in the Bollywood, it’s all the more important for her to exercise caution.

 "I have to be choosy. If today, a film script comes to me, I have to think 10 times because I can't do just anything. During lockdown, I remember a film offer came my way and I wasn't sure about saying yes to it.”

She said her friends told her, “you will be remembered from your last film, so whatever you are going to choose, be wise because nobody will remember I did well in ‘Shikara'. Whatever you choose, it has to be better than or at par with your last film," she told IANS.

Sadia Khateeb featured in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Shikara opposite Aadil Khan. The film, set against the backdrop of the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Jammu and Kashmir, didn’t make big money yet it won critical acclaim.

However, both the debutant actors and film’s lead pair – Sadia Khateeb and Adil Khan - were noticed for their acting prowess and as fresh faces.

Sadia belongs to Bhaderwah in Jammu and was studying to be an engineer, when she got a call from the Bollywood. Adil too has a Kashmiri lineage and belongs to Bhopal. Both of them had played the couple Shanti-Shiv who are forced to leave their home due to terrorism in Kashmir.

 Talking about her upcoming projects, Sadia said:

"There are two things I am doing this year in terms of films but I am not allowed to speak about it yet. I have been getting offers for films and I have been auditioning as well. Some of them are working out and some of them are not. I didn't expect offers to come because commercially, it (Shikara) didn't do well, so I feel grateful about that. It's been a balanced cycle as I am rejecting 10 things and 10 people are rejecting me."

(With inputs from IANS)