I refused notable work, as I felt I am not there yet: Sadia Khateeb

By: Aakruti Bagla

Sadia Khateeb, who marked her big screen debut with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Shikara (2020), currently delivered a phenomenal performance in Raksha Bandhan. Helmed by Aanand L Rai, the film is based on the beautiful relationship between brother-sister and the dowry issue that still exists. Undoubtedly, the actress is receiving positive responses for her role in the film.

In an exclusive tete-a-tete with Absolute India News, the actress spoke about working with Akshay Kumar, the malpractice of dowry and the Boycott Raksha Bandhan trend. Excerpts:

On working with critically acclaimed directors

The actress made her debut with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Shikara and her second film was Aanand L Rai’s Raksha Bandhan. When asked about how she reflects on working with critically acclaimed directors, Sadia averred, “I didn’t deliberately plan it, this just happened to me. I can only express my gratitude to God for providing me with this chance to collaborate with such well-known directors. I also want to thank the filmmakers who trusted me enough to let me appear in their movies.”

On her journey in the industry

The actress recalled how her journey has been in the industry. She revealed declining two big projects because they didn’t have much scope for her.

“There have been days when I stayed home and did not work. However, even in those days, if a notable project came my way and I felt that I am not there enough, I refused to take it on. It is because I was thriving to satisfy my inner creative person”, shared Sadia.

On Raksha Bandhan being called Akshay Kumar’s film

The actress shared her experience of working with Akshay Kumar and said, “He and I had a relationship that was more beautiful off-screen than it was on-screen. I can attest to the fact that he is a wonderful person in addition to being an amazing celebrity. He treats everyone around him with respect and is incredibly humble. I firmly believe that he deserves everything that he has accomplished in life.”

She further reveals why Raksha Bandhan being called Akshay Kumar’s film does not bother her. She says, “Absolutely not! He is a fantastic performer, and he did one of the finest jobs in the movie. He has a lot of talent. It’s a treat to watch him on screen, whether you’re the audience or a performer. I want to see him more.”

On dowry being a malpractice

Since the movie revolves around the evil practice of dowry, the actress shared a harrowing incident her teacher came across. She shared, “While promoting the film, I was listening to the song Bidaai on loop and suddenly recalled an instance. When I was studying in school, there was a beautiful teacher of mine who got married. She would come to school with solah shringar and look so stunning. I remember getting fascinated and admiring her. Cut to a week later, we got to know that her in-laws had poured kerosene and burnt her alive for dowry.”

She further added, “It was after this incident I realised to what extent people can go for dowry.”

On the #BoycottRakshaBandhan trend

Ahead of the release, the film was under scrutiny for clashing with Laal Singh Chadha. Talking about the clash, Sadia shared, “It’s natural that it was a stressful situation. However, we were busy enjoying promoting our film that we didn’t have time to think much about it. But we were of course scared and nervous about the result.”

Talking about the wrath of the #Boycott trend that the film faced, the actress said, “I don’t wish to talk about it. Let’s just boycott the talk on that topic itself.”

On consciously taking up projects

On a parting note, the actress shared that she has not signed anything yet and is looking for good roles. Elaborating on the same, she shared, “All I want is to make my parents proud. I won’t like it if they see me doing something and don’t feel proud of me. Regardless of how Shikara and Raksha Bandhan performed, I can guarantee that my family was satisfied to see it.”