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Fatima Sana Shaikh gets candid on bulimia, binge-eating and pressure to look good in interview
The Bollywood actress' talk on a podcast with Rhea Chakraborty was a masterclass on facing a problem and overcoming it
- PUBLISHED: Wed 11 Feb 2026, 2:49 PM UPDATED: Wed 11 Feb 2026, 3:54 PM
"I was bulimic for a year. Because I had absolutely no control and my understanding of diet was rigid."
With these words, Bollywood actress Fatima Sana Shaikh, the star of hits such as Dangal, Aap Jaisa Koi, Ludo and Metro... In Dino, broke open her struggle with the eating disorder bulimia for nearly a year and how she managed to overcome it.
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Shaikh's candid conversation with actress Rhea Chakraborty, in her namesake podcast, Chapter 2 with Rhea Chakraborty, was a masterclass on facing a problem and overcoming it. Bulimia is an eating disorder that comprises bouts of overeating followed by self-induced vomiting.
Understanding the problem within
Shaikh dropped truth bombs in the podcast: "If you understand yourself, the problem is not in the food. It is in you because you're feeling insecure... You're eating your feelings because you don't want to feel anything. You want to feel numb."
The actress likened the situation to doomscrolling, adding that she'd feel nauseous at the end of it. "Because how much can you really eat?"
The downward spiral after 'Dangal'
Shaikh opened up on her toxic relationship with food—and in a vulnerable moment, a "love-hate relationship" with herself. She cited her experiences during the shoot for Aamir Khan's Dangal (2016), in which she played a wrestler who's also the daughter of a wrestler.
While filming, Shaikh had to put on weight. "There I was training for three hours and working out for one and half hours. And I consumed 2,500-3,000 calories everyday to gain weight."
Once the movie shoot ended, she still consumed a similar quantity of food. And that began a downward spiral. "I'm unfit, I'n not healthy, I'm not working out."
The difficulties compounded because food became Shaikh's "comfort zone". She realised that this was owing to a lack of control. And her response was candid.
“I have two extremes. If I'm not holistic, I go towards extremes."
The revival
Her friends and peers helped in no small measure. Sanya Malhotra (Shaikh's co-star from Dangal) said 'I know what you're doing'." That made her realise her relationship with food wasn't right.
The screenwriter Rahul Mody, Shaikh said, introduced her to a holistic diet comprising smoothies and other healthy foods. "You can eat. You can feel full. (But) that's no way to live."
Today, the actress swears by a fitness regimen and a healthy diet.
Shaikh had an underlying reason for speaking up: Offering a message of reassurance.
"I wanted to talk about this because there are a lot of girls... who suffer from this and because of the perfection (demanded) on Instagram and social media, and it's okay if you have had any eating disorder."
