Sadia Khateeb’s strong and stirring portrayal in The Diplomat has won her a lot of praise. Playing the real-life character of Uzma Ahmed, an Indian woman tricked into marriage by a Pakistani man and abused beyond measure before she plans a daredevil escape aided by an Indian diplomat, played by John Abraham, the film struck gold when it released in theatres in March and is now the top trending film on Netflix. t2 chatted with Sadia, who started her career as the leading lady in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Shikara five years ago and followed it up with Rakshabandhan, with Akshay Kumar.
The Diplomat has been the sleeper success of the year so far, with unanimously positive reviews. After a good run in theatres, it is now trending at #1 on Netflix. There must be a whole new audience discovering the film, right?
Yes. At the end of the day, that is what an artiste works for. I am happy that there has not been a single negative review about my performance or the film. All those days of hard work put into being Uzma (Ahmed) seem to have come a full circle. The kind of response I got when The Diplomat released in theatres in March and now when it is on streaming is extraordinary.
I hold every compliment close to my heart. There have been extraordinary comments... some people have said that this is one of the best performances of the year so far, while many others said they only saw Uzma in me and never Sadia. The only people who have been critical of my performance are my father and brother, but that is also because they have high expectations from me (smiles).
While there is a lot of happiness, I also feel a slight pressure because I keep asking myself that how will I top this. Will the next opportunity be equally meaty? I hope I continue to get roles like this. I hope it is not a short-term happiness.
Since March, I have been full of gratitude. I haven’t even had the time to process all the positivity that has come my way because almost straightaway, I started shooting for my next film (with Kapil Sharma). In fact, I am still in Shimla shooting for the film.
What was your first reaction when you heard about Uzma’s story, a classic case of an ordinary woman facing extraordinary circumstances and fighting against it?
I first heard of it during the audition when the casting director briefed me a little bit about this character. It was when I was selected for the part that I heard the whole story. I was blown away by how courageous this girl was... her presence of mind even in a life-and-death kind of situation. Usually when people are trapped in any kind of situation — especially in the kind that Uzma was in — they tend to mostly give up. But she had incredible common sense and presence of mind and she played the situation smartly to her advantage. I found that very intriguing and inspiring. That is one thing which I really loved about the character and which I kept in mind throughout... that one should never let go of presence of mind,
no matter how tough a situation may be.
I believe you never met Uzma before or during the shoot. Why was that?
Yes, the first time I met her was during the promotions of the film. There is also a video on YouTube which shows us meeting for the first time. The idea behind not meeting her was that I was selected on the basis of my audition, which stood out for being very intuitive. When I came on board, I started watching Uzma’s interviews online and it was then that the director, Shivam Nair, told me strictly not to. He told me not to read about her or see anything related to her. He told me to play the character intuitively, just as I had done in the audition. He was also there throughout to guide me.
The idea was that I had to face all those situations in the film myself, and not allow Uzma’s perspective or experience to colour my portrayal of the character. The approach was to live the character myself and make it real... to live, rather than to mimic, and convey it as truthfully as I could to the audience.
This is a very emotionally-heavy part. How much did playing Uzma weigh you down as an actor and a person, and how did you navigate that?
The most challenging part has to be the Buner sequence (located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, where Uzma is tricked into marriage and held captive). It has been two years since I shot that part, but whenever I go back and think about it, it wears me out emotionally. To tap into the right emotions, you have to really go through those emotions. What I have achieved, I would credit it to the setup, the locations, the director and the co-actors... everything felt so real that even the punches were hurting me after a point. During that part, and even after, I had to tap into my deepest, darkest emotions and forget that it is acting, forget the technicalities and just try to be as real. Honestly, it wasn’t a nice feeling at all. The journey was difficult, but it opened a new door for me in my head, it made me realise what I could do as an actor.
It was really painful, but at the end of the day, I am a girl and human emotions will always be universal. Anyone in that situation will feel the same way, though the way each of us react to it may be different.
When I met Uzma for the first time, I had so many questions for her. When I was playing her, though it was tough, I knew in my subconscious mind that it was a film and I was acting and that I would come out of it. But this was what happened to her in life. I don’t know how she managed to deal with it in the way she did because it was her reality. The thought of it haunts me. Just playing it in my head has haunted me. She told me she took each day at a time and dealt with it accordingly. And she has come out of it so beautifully.
The Diplomat is a rare film that doesn’t resort to jingoism and treats its subject like a human story. Did that aspect strike you while making the film?
This is, at the end of the day, a human story, above anything else. There is no doubt about that. The credit for letting it remain that way goes entirely to our director. Kudos to him for not taking the story in any other direction. He stayed true to the story rather than twisting it to make it attractive for certain audiences.
This was also a very different kind of a role for John. What were your biggest learnings from being on set with him and what kind of a co-star was he?
He was a beautiful co-star. As an actor, he was always one of my favourites... working with him gave me an insight into how he functions. He is very professional and gets a lot into his characters. At the same time, he gives space to every actor around him. He lets them be, he is a very secure actor, which I love about him.
I saw him living the character of J.P. Singh... not even once did I see John Abraham. Also, he would be on set even on days when he didn’t have a shot. He was there giving cues when he was not even in the scene. For a star like him with such vast experience, doing something like that is very commendable. He was a huge inspiration.
Has the praise for The Diplomat translated into tangible gains for you?
I have hopes, dreams, ambitions and certain favourite genres that I want to work in. For that, I need opportunities. Unless I get them, how will I prove that I am good at something. For someone like me who is a freelancer, who has no connections... every opportunity counts.
I hope those who have liked me in The Diplomat give me at least one audition to realise that I can pull it off. I am hoping, praying and manifesting that. I have seen interest from certain filmmakers after The Diplomat. But I am still waiting for a film to happen.
What can you tell us about the film you are working on now?
I can’t really reveal much, but I can say that this is a very heartwarming film. I want people to see a completely different aspect of me as an actor. This is a comedy and a family drama, and it makes me explore things I haven’t done before.