Sadia Khateeb’s presence on screen feels like a breath of fresh air. Born and raised in Kashmir, the 27-year-old actor’s recent release, The Diplomat, starring John Abraham, shows her in an intense and commanding space. Directed by Shivam Nair, the film is a high-stakes political thriller and has received critical appreciation. Khateeb’s role, shrouded in mystery, has received a lot of praise. Having debuted in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 2020 film Shikara, Khateeb has also appeared in Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan. “My character in The Diplomat is that of a woman of courage, of substance and of integrity. She’s someone who will inspire all of us in many ways,” says Khateeb.
Based on a real-life incident, The Diplomat follows JP Singh, an Indian diplomat stationed in Pakistan. Uzma Ahmed, an Indian woman, arrives at the Indian Embassy in Pakistan claiming she was tricked into marriage by a Pakistani man and is now held captive. Uzma, played by Khateeb seeks help to return to India, and JP Singh takes on the challenge of rescuing her.
Laughing at how excited she was about working with her childhood crush John Abraham, Khateeb says, “It was absolutely thrilling, and I was jumping with joy like a kid. He is very particular about his fitness routine. He used to give me looks when I would be sitting on set with chocolates. He would take the wrappers and show me the amount of sugar it contained.”
With four years of experience in the industry, the actor believes that no one really knows the mantra of success in the industry and people mostly explore and learn. Khateeb, who has done a total of three films, says, there’s also a demerit to being more choosy when it comes to scripts and characters. “I like to choose characters, but, in the bargain, I have just done three films. Sometimes, I feel I am losing out on work, but it’s fine. I just know when I did Shikara, I gave my best. I worked to the best of my ability in Raksha Bandhan. I have signed a three-film deal with T-Series. I can’t speak much about that, but there’s definitely more work on the cards.” Khateeb wants to take up more challenging roles and also experiment with genres. “I want to do a commercial film, a Bollywood heroine dancing behind the bushes and trees. I would love to play a Marathi woman as well,” she adds.
Khateeb’s debut film, Shikara, did not do well at the box office, but her character received a lot of praise. The opportunity to be directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra in her first film, was an experience of a lifetime for Khateeb. “Vidhu ji was a completely different school of acting. It was an institution in itself. He is a perfectionist. But I don’t know what the outside perception is. People are a little scared of him. But he treated me like a child. And whatever I’ve learnt, it on Vidhu ji’s his set. And then with Raksha Bandhan, I got the opportunity to work with Anand sir. Akshay sir used to crack his own jokes. Working with him was a lot of fun. Now working on Shivam Sir’s set was a completely different atmosphere. It has been a learning experience.”
Khateeb believes that the most important aspect of doing your job is to be honest and committed to it. “Whether I’m 20 or 50, I will never be able to understand it all. At the end of the day, we are all trying to make good cinema,” she smiles.