‘Strength training has made me more confident’: Sadia Khateeb on fitness, self-care and life after Bollywood

Sadia Khateeb never set out to become an actor. While pursuing her Electrical Engineering degree in Jammu, she was focused on a very different career path when an unexpected opportunity connected her with the team behind Shikara.

A photograph of Khateeb caught the attention of the film’s team, leading to a screen test. Casting director Indu Sharma and one of her future co-stars travelled to Jammu to meet her and conduct the audition. The process eventually brought Khateeb to Mumbai after filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra spoke with her father and persuaded him to give her an opportunity to explore acting.

Looking back, Khateeb considers the turn of events almost destined.

“Honestly, I never had any plans of becoming an actor or moving to Bollywood. I truly believe it was destiny, and I’m grateful to everyone who played a part in bringing me to Mumbai and believing in me. It wasn’t something I had planned. It happened very organically. Sometimes life surprises you in the best possible way, and that’s exactly what happened with me,” she said in an interview with The Indian Express.

From engineering student to Bollywood actor

Khateeb made her film debut with Shikara in 2020. The role marked her first major acting experience and introduced her to Hindi cinema at a relatively young age.

Her journey since then has included appearances in films such as Raksha Bandhan, alongside Akshay Kumar, and The Diplomat, featuring John Abraham.

Rather than following a traditional route into the film industry, Khateeb’s career began with an opportunity she had not anticipated. That experience has remained an important part of how she views her professional journey.

Her transition from engineering studies to acting also meant adapting quickly to a completely different environment. From preparing for performances to working alongside established actors and filmmakers, the experience has given her an opportunity to develop professionally while discovering her own identity as a performer.

Sadia Khateeb on strength training and confidence

Fitness has also become an important part of Khateeb’s lifestyle. She has spoken about the role strength training plays in her routine and how it has influenced the way she feels about herself.

“Strength training has made me more confident,” Khateeb said, highlighting the connection she sees between physical fitness and personal confidence.

For her, fitness is not simply about appearance. Strength training can also provide a sense of discipline and consistency, qualities that can be particularly useful for someone working in an industry where schedules and demands can change quickly.

Her approach reflects a broader shift in conversations around fitness, with strength and overall wellbeing increasingly being treated as important aspects of self-care rather than purely aesthetic goals.

Diet, lifestyle and self-care

In her conversation with The Indian Express, Khateeb also opened up about her diet and lifestyle routine.

For an actor, maintaining a balanced routine can be challenging because professional commitments may involve irregular schedules, travel and long working hours. Khateeb’s focus on fitness and self-care offers a glimpse into how she approaches maintaining her wellbeing alongside her acting career.

Rather than presenting fitness as a quick transformation, her comments point towards consistency and strength as important components of a sustainable routine.

Working with John Abraham and other actors

Khateeb’s filmography has given her opportunities to work with established names in Hindi cinema. Her appearance in The Diplomat brought her into a project led by John Abraham, while her earlier work in Raksha Bandhan saw her share the screen with Akshay Kumar.

These experiences have allowed the actor to observe different working styles and gain exposure to larger film productions.

For an actor who entered the industry without initially planning to pursue acting, each project has represented another step in understanding the profession and expanding her range.

A career shaped by unexpected opportunities

Khateeb’s story remains distinctive because there was no long-term plan to enter Bollywood. A photograph, an audition and a conversation with her family eventually changed the trajectory she had imagined for herself.

Her journey from an Electrical Engineering student in Jammu to a Hindi-film actor demonstrates how careers can sometimes develop through opportunities that arrive unexpectedly.

As she continues to explore acting, her focus on fitness and self-care appears to be another part of building a sustainable professional life. With several mainstream projects already part of her filmography, Khateeb’s next choices will determine the direction of the next phase of her career.

For now, the actor appears comfortable embracing the unexpected path that brought her to Mumbai — while placing greater emphasis on confidence, strength and taking care of herself along the way.

Editorial note

This Hunterfly article is based on information supplied from a published Indian Express interview and publicly available career information. Quotes attributed to Sadia Khateeb should be checked against the original interview before publication, and any additional details should be independently verified. Hunterfly does not reproduce the source article in full and should retain proper attribution when reporting information derived from another publication.