Fatima Sana Shaikh makes this BIG claim about male actors, says, 'If Shah Rukh Khan...'

Fatima Sana Shaikh recently announced her upcoming film with actor R Madhavan, titled Aap Jaisa Koi. It’s a love story, and the actress has expressed her admiration for her co-star.

Fatima said, "I’ve been smitten by Madhavan all my life. So, I told him that I have the hugest crush on you. He knows how much I love him for his craft and how much I respect him. He is also so respectful towards me. He is also such a nerd. He brings in these new gadgets and gets so excited about them. He is such a child then."

The actress also recently completed shooting for Anurag Basu's Metro... In Dino, which marks her reunion with the filmmaker after they collaborate on Ludo. She said "I have told Anurag Basu that whichever film you make, give me the smallest role and I will do it. Now, I have started arm twisting him also." 

The film has faced several delays in both its shooting and release schedule, and Fatima addresses these by saying, "I would rather have Dada (Anurag) take his time and make a good film, then just release a film that’s not there. He’s a filmmaker who is very clear of what he wants to make. And people think he is the sole one making the call, but he is handling an ensemble cast. Every actor has different availabilities and there are so many other things that he has to work on. So, finding combination dates take time, it’s not easy." 

In the Hindi film industry, it's common for directors to cast the same leading men in multiple films, but Fatima is one of the few female actors who have been re-cast by a director.

While talking about the same, she says, “It’s because they bring in the money. If Shah Rukh Khan gets more money, it’s because he can give you the audience. Certain actors bring a certain number of eyeballs with them. So, when you are casting as a director, you are also thinking of the money aspect. And there are still a number of bankable male actors, thus they reunite with them more. But how many bankable female actors do we have? There’s Kangana Ranaut, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, but the number is few. That’s why we are not repeated. If we will bring in numbers, we will also be repeated.”