Saqib Saleem is one of those actors who is happywith the OTT boom as actors are getting work unlike earlier times. He has been in the industryfor 9 years now, and has done some amazing work and got recognition for thesame.
?Saqib startedat the age of 22 and he was quite gutsy to play the role of gay in Karan Johar¡¯sBombay Talkies. He played Randeep Hooda¡¯s love interest.
After that, he did some of impressive? projects like HawaHawai, Rangbaaz, Crack Down and Comedy Couple and has been appreciated for thesame.
To begin with Saqib talks about the reservations hehad playing gay in Bombay Talkies, ¡°I think it¡¯s one of my most special films Idid, because while shooting Bombay Talkies, I realised what acting is called. InBombay Talkies I was playing a character which I was not, I had no understandingof that world, I was 22, immature, I didn¡¯t understand anything, but this filmreally broaden my horizon in understanding life, I got a lot of love for thatfilm, everybody spoke about how gutsy I was to play a gay character at the age of22 when people in mainstream cinema don¡¯t.
Talking about the discomfort he said, ¡°I was worriedthat if I play gay audience will start thinking that I¡¯m gay in real, and becauseof that I won¡¯t get work.
But I spoke to Huma Qureshi and Aditya Chopra toclarify my doubts, and they both told me that I am stupid to be thinking likethat. I had a discomfort initially to play gay, but I did it. Also knowingthe fact Karan Johar is directing it, he will be very sensible about it.¡±
Saqib has seen his struggle and talking about thesame, he said, ¡°When you start your career, you have different understanding of theworld. When I started my career, I was about 20 yea old and all I wanted to bewas the Shah Rukh Khan. I am that boy from Delhi who came and conquered. And whileyou go through your journeys, you realise you are NO Shah Rukh Khan, everybody¡¯sjourney is different. All I have got to do in this life is be Saqib Saleem andbe the best version of myself. My job is to find work and what is good for myself,what happens to that work, whether I becomes super flop, blockbuster, is not inmy control. What I can control is to find good work and give my best, so that¡¯smy strategy in last 3 years.¡±
Talking about the OTT boom, Saqib said, ¡°I am reallyenjoying this phase, because I am getting a lot of exciting characters, thoughthat wouldn¡¯t be for theatrical business because that is slightly consideredniche or may be not on the main stream, but then on OTT platform such contentworks. So as an actor I am elated with OTT platform, because now we can¡¯t complainthere is no good work. There is lots of good work and opportunities for everyone.¡±
Saqib gives a justified answer on nepotismand favouritism debate,?
"You can¡¯t blame any person to be born in any actor¡¯shouse. How difficult was it for god to make me born in Shah RukhKhan¡¯s house but nai kia na, ab Shah Rukh Khan, and in his family someone wantsto be an actor, so why will he not help that person? It¡¯s wrong to help yourfriends and family? But the industry that we are in, the audiences will tellyou in the first film only that it isn¡¯t working bro, no matter what you do.
Better thancomplaining, we should focus on our skills and work on yourself and become sogood that nobody can stop you from what you want. Why blame others? It¡¯s yourjourney. And now the time we are in, there are ample opportunities, so now weshould just stop complaining and work.¡±
Saqib will be next be seen in Kabir Khan¡¯s 83 with RanveerSingh.