Fatima Sana Shaikh recalls how Aamir Khan helped when she had a seizure on Dangal set

Fatima Sana Shaikh

Fatima Sana Shaikh, who made her breakout debut alongside Aamir Khan in the blockbuster film Dangal, has often spoken openly about living with the neurological condition Epilepsy. In a recent conversation with Soha Ali Khan, the actress recalled experiencing seizures during the film's shoot and how the team rushed to understand and manage the sudden medical emergency.

Fatima Sana Shaikh on getting seizures during Dangal

During a podcast with Soha Ali Khan, she recalled, "It came, and I was like, ‘Nahi, nahi, kuchh nahi, ho jaayega'. And then badhta gaya, badhta gaya. Jo bhi mere aas-paas tha, maine bola mujhe seizure aane waala hai. Kisi ko pata hi nahi kya hai. Mujhe bhi nahi pata kya hai. And luckily Aamir (Khan) tha aur Sanya Malhotra thi, Kripa Shankar Bishnoi jo humein train kar rahe the, woh the… and fatafat Google kiya, unko answers mile, un logon ne side pe rakha, jo bhi hua. And then eventually, I think as a production house, they took it upon themselves to figure out what this is because a lot was riding on me, the whole film."

Furthermore, Fatima revealed, "They took me to a doctor, they did all the MRIs, they did EEG, sab kuch. They took me to a certain doctor, a neurologist in Bombay at that time. He put me on medication. It was a medication that was just too much for me. Aisa lagta tha that I'm under the influence. So I couldn't walk straight, everything was wonky. I was feeling very depressive and angry. I was all the time very angry and sad. I felt very alienated."

Her Gustaakh Ishq co-star Vijay Varma recently recalled witnessing her seizure on set, saying he felt "helpless" despite her having briefed the team with "guidelines" beforehand. He told Mashable India, "I felt so vulnerable. We cleared a bed, made her lie down, and gave her space."

Fatima's upcoming projects

Fatima was last seen in Gustaakh Ishq alongside Vijay Varma. The film, directed by Vibhu Puri, also starred Naseeruddin Shah and Sharib Hashmi in pivotal roles. Apart from this, she is set to star in the courtroom drama web series Nyaya alongside Aneet Padda and Arjun Mathur, directed by Nitya Mehra.