Fatima Sana Shaikh will portray Indira Gandhi in Meghna Gulzar's Sam Bahadur, co-starring Vicky Kaushal and Sanya Malhotra. For the role, Sanya is researching on the life of the former Prime Minister.

A source close to the actor reveals, "Fatima has been reading a number of books on Indira Gandhi to understand her better, and get an idea of her regime as the Prime Minister. She also has got her hands on various documentaries to get the nuances and mannerisms of her character right. It is a responsible role and Fatima wants to do full justice to it."

This is the second time Fatima is portraying a real-life character. She'd played wrestler Geeta Phogat in her debut film Dangal (2016).

Sam Bahadur is a biopic of Sam Manekshaw, the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of field marshal. He was India's Chief of Army Staff during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. He is portrayed in the film by Vicky with Sanya playing his wife Silloo Bode.