After a dream debut with Yash Raj’s Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge, newcomer Saqib Saleem followed it up with an impressive performance in Mere Dad Ki Maruti (MDKM) under the same banner. The unconventional actor is happy that he is now working with Karan Johar in Bombay Talkies.
The film is being helmed by four directors Anurag Kashyap, Johar, Zoya Akhtar and Dibakar Banerjee as a mark of the centenary year of Indian cinema. Saqib, 24, will be sharing the screen space with Rani Mukherji and Randeep Hooda for Johar’s segment of the Indian anthology film.
KJ’s Bombay Talkies
It is a short 25 minute story for Karan Johar’s segment in Bombay Talkies. I would consider myself extremely lucky to have been selected for a movie by Karan Johar. Besides, having got a chance of sharing screen space with Rani Mukherji is a different feeling altogether. I can’t ask for more than this at this point of my career. Besides, I don’t think about my future but I am happy that I have been accepted well in this industry.
Youth-centric films
To be honest I would love to do different roles, but I am just 24 and no one will offer me serious roles now. So, I get roles of a college boy, or something or the other to do with the youth. But I am looking forward to some serious cinema through which I can discover my own potential. At some point of time, I would definitely want all my characters to be different from the previous ones. There is no specific genre that I want to be stuck to.
Comedy in MDKM
I enjoyed doing Mere Dad Ki Maruti and the credit for this film goes to Ashima Chibber who is a friend of mine. She is one director who knows her script very well so I was sure that I was in safe hands. When I used to rehearse for any of the scenes, I myself used to laugh aloud at times because of the hilarious dialogues. Hence, doing comedy came easy to me.
A cricketer & an actor
Before taking up acting as a career, I explored different options - played for under-19 cricket team for Delhi as well as Jammu and Kashmir, assisted dad in restaurant business and even tried hand at modelling. But soon I realised ki main itna acha bhi nahi khelta ki main cricketer ban sakun. (smiles). Since people used to call me ‘nautanki’ right from my childhood, I thought of giving acting a try. I shifted to Mumbai and that is how I started with a few modelling assignments. Today, acting is what I want to do. I love this career.
Dream role
There is no dream role as of now. I am just a newcomer in this industry, but I want to work in good films that are backed by good people. Given a chance, I would love to do roles that Shahrukh Khan did. He’s truly the Baadshah of the industry.
Being Huma’s brother
We discuss our work every day at home. While Huma is known for her serious roles, my characters have been on the lighter side. We joke that while I’m with Yashraj, she’s with Anurag Kashyap and should exchange places some day. But on a serious note, I would like to try serious roles someday. She is my support system in this industry.
Lessons learnt To remain focused and passionate about your work.
Bombay Talkies is scheduled to release in the theatres on May 3.