Sadia Khateeb is riding high on her performance in the recently released John Abraham starrer The Diplomat. The political thriller, directed by Shivam Nair and written by Ritesh Shah, is set against the backdrop of Indo-Pak relations, with a deep dive into diplomacy and the personal conflicts faced by diplomats.

Sadia’s debut film was Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Shikara (2020), after which she was seen in the Akshay Kumar starrer Raksha Bandhan (2022). In a sit-down video interview at our Free Press Journal studio, Sadia opened up about her journey, working with Chopra, and... crying in front of us within 5 seconds, as well as ‘threatening’ to walk out of the interview (You can see the video interview if you don’t believe us). Excerpts:

Q. How did you go from Jammu to Bollywood?

A. It was absolutely my destiny that got me into movies. I was an electrical engineering student before coming to Bombay. A casting director from Mukesh Chhabra Casting Company reached out to me when I was 19 years old for a film, and I gave the test. I got selected but was wary of the different scams that were taking place, so I blocked her number, thinking she was fake. A year later, that film was released, so I knew it was a genuine call. Again, destiny played a part and I got another call from the Mukesh Chhabra Casting Company. They were looking for a lead for Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Shikara. Nobody in my khandaan had ever been in Bollywood, and I thought my parents wouldn’t allow me. However, the casting agent believed in me; she was like my fairy godmother who advised me. Vidhu sir also ended up calling my dad and speaking to him on video chat. By this point in time, it had already been a year into college, and I wasn’t doing very well and wasn’t happy with it either. It was my brother who went to dad and said, ‘What has happened to her twice is not normal. So we should let her go and see what destiny holds.’

Q. So how is it working with Vidu Vinod Chopra?

A. Whatever I've learned about acting from him, I can't put it in words. He's a university in itself. You see his interview and you learn 10 things after just watching it. So imagine, three years I was given the privilege to be around him and to learn. And he gave me so much love and respect. Even at his age, he's more passionate than most of us. He's so open about talking, and he gives respect to your opinion.

Q. Raksha Bandhan dealt with the issue of dowry, and you have previously spoken about a school teacher of yours who had been killed by her in-laws due to dowry. What exactly happened and was there ever justice in the case?

A. Anuradha ma'am. I was in the fifth standard. We all liked her, and she would come to class all dressed up and was very beautiful. Then one day she took leave; we had been told she was getting married. I'm not very aware of what exactly happened, but we were told that her in-laws burnt her to death for dowry. And this is just one case — there are so many such cases in our country. Patriarchy is rooted, and all this has been happening for a long time. It's unfortunate, but I don't know what one can do about it anymore. The least one can do is maybe try to help out someone who's in it by spreading awareness. But then these things become very complicated at times.

Q. What is the secret to success

A. No matter how hard you try for a role, or for that matter, no matter how many people go against you, it all comes down to destiny. It doesn’t matter if you do 1000 rounds of Aram Nagar. I have seen extremely talented people not getting the job, and extremely useless people becoming stars. Don’t give up, or maybe just give up when it’s the right time. Please find yourself another alternative. I would not ask you to suffer and suffer; having a plan B is very important. Even if you don’t have a plan B, you should have a presence of mind. I will never want my sister or my daughter to go through the struggles and face the rejections because it really affects your insecurity. It makes you question yourself. And I see my friends and people around me who are dealing with this. But I also, as an actor, know the feeling and satisfaction it gives me once I land a role. It's only about an opportunity that makes one a good or a bad actor.