Saqib Saleem made his Bollywood debut in 2011 with Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge. Ever since then, the actor has tried to experiment with every film he has been a part of. He may have been just 7 films old in the industry but he is making sure to add different genres to his kitty.
He was 2 films old when he played a gay character in Bombay Talkies for Karan Johar. Ask him if it was too early for him to play a character like this and Saqib immediately replies:
I had an opportunity to work with Karan Johar & Rani Mukherjee and I also had an opportunity to work in a film that was celebrating 100 years of cinema. I would be a fool if I rejected a film basis of what my sexuality in the film is. I’m an actor and I enjoy doing this. First I thought that I wouldn’t be able to do it because I’m not comfortable kissing a guy on screen. It was when I met Karan and he made me go through the script, it’s when I thought that this story needs to be told. He narrated it so beautifully, I could even hear background music when he was narrating it. Nobody expected me to do this. People in our country don’t call comedy performances as good performances. I had to do something by which people could think that yeah he can do that. I wanted to show people that I have a varied range. There were zero preparations; I just went with my full instinct.
Actors always receive feedback from the audience. Is it easy for an actor to take that feedback in a positive way?
I take the feedbacks very constructively. It’s a very objective thing, you might like Race3 and I wouldn’t, that won’t make me right or you wrong. Acting is also very subjective. Some might like it some won’t. If there’s something that is said by a lot of people then I would like to work on it. I want to entertain people till I die. I sound filmy if I say so, I will die on a film set because I love it so much. If there’s something that would better my skills, I would love to incorporate it and make it a part of my process. I’m not saying that acting is rocket science but there is a process to it. So if I get a feedback I would love to incorporate it in my process so that I can see with what I can do.
The trailer of Race 3 has been well received and Saqib’s entry scene has been compared to that of James Bond. Ask him for his reaction and he says,
If that was the reference, it has come out really well since the look and feel of the scene is similar as it has been shot on the beach.
Talking about doing a project like Race 3 he adds,
I have never done an action commercial film before. So I was very curious as to how people will react to me in the trailer. Since I had never done an action film, I was curious to know whether people would like me holding guns, killing people. The response has been very overwhelming.
Keep entertaining us Saqib.