Sadia Khateeb has worked with some big names in Bollywood, having appeared alongside Akshay Kumar in ‘Raksha Bandhan’ and John Abraham in ‘The Diplomat’ before her latest film ‘Daadi Ki Shaadi’. In a recent chat, the actress talked about what she learnt from working with these stars and the advice they shared with her. She also opened up about why she chose to be a part of ‘Daadi Ki Shaadi’.
Sadia Khateeb on Akshay Kumar’s humility and work ethic
Talking to Hindustan Times, Sadia said, “I learned that you can be the biggest star in the country and still be incredibly humble and grounded.” She also recalled Akshay Kumar’s advice and said, “He told me, ‘Just keep doing work. Start small if you have to, but keep working and you’ll eventually reach bigger places.’ Even after being such a massive star, he still behaves like a newcomer on set. He waits for his director, gives endless takes patiently, and stays there even for simple reaction shots instead of disappearing into his vanity van… I realised you can never lose the passion you had when you first started out.“
Sadia Khateeb calls ‘Daadi Ki Shaadi’ shoot one of her best experiences
Speaking about ‘Daadi Ki Shaadi’, she said, “Shooting this film was honestly one of the best experiences of being on a film set for me because of the environment, because of the co-actors, because of my director and everyone around. We all had food together, lunch and dinner together. It was beautiful weather, we were shooting all night, working really hard towards the film, but at the same time, it felt like pure joy because of the people who were present there. It genuinely felt like we had all gone on a holiday together”.
Sadia Khateeb on why she needed a break from intense roles
Sadia explained that she signed Daadi Ki Shaadi because she wanted a break from heavy and intense roles after The Diplomat. She felt she needed something fun and easy to work on. “I had already shot for The Diplomat, and I realised I was craving something light-hearted. I wanted to explore something that wasn’t intense, something that wasn’t emotionally sitting on my shoulders all the time. When I was shooting The Diplomat, I realised subconsciously those emotions stay with you. After the film, I went back home, and my parents noticed I had become very quiet. I was sleeping a lot. I wasn’t stepping out much. The last schedule I shot involved the torture scenes. You keep repeating that trauma in your mind for days while performing it. You live those 20-30 days as that character. Subconsciously, it stays with you even after the film is done,” she said.“While shooting this film (Daadi Ki Shaadi), I was constantly smiling, laughing, giggling and having fun. I realised as an actor, and as a human being, I really needed something like this for my peace of mind,” the actress concluded.