‘It doesn’t matter if you are an outsider or a star-kid’
Actor Saqib Saleem, who rose to fame with the film Mere Dad Ki Maruti, is presently starring in the flick Dobaara. He speaks to Preeti Singh about his work, and how he remains a people’s actor.
you do? A.
I wait for the right scripts. I watch every film that gets released on Friday. And I look at them and analyse them. I genuinely try to get the right kind of story because I really enjoy acting and want to do this for the rest of my life. I wait for the right scripts also because I don’t want people to say that I made a mistake signing this film after watching my film. I want to be sure about the films that I am doing. I come from a family in Delhi. I have not grown up in a family whose background is from the film industry. Therefore, the chances that I am going to get here is very limited. So, you may call me choosy because it has to be something like, whenever someone sees my name in the film cast, he or she should think that this film is going to be good. That’s the only intention.
Q. So, are you saying that you have to be very par- ticular about the films you choose in the industry? A.
I think I have already passed that day, where I should call myself an outsider. What I meant earlier is that I don’t know anybody here and I have my own journey. But having said that, you compare it with somebody who is from a film family, for whom getting his or her first film is a bit easier in comparison. But now, I think we are living in an age where people decide whether they want to see you or not. And directors are still casting me in shows that people want to see. So, people are the right judge because they decide whether they want to see you or not, and it doesn’t matter whether you are an outsider or a star-kid. If they like you, they will accept you and it is very important for an actor to be universally liked by the audience.
Q. You are doing the film
with you sister, Huma Qureshi. What kind of equation do you share? A.
We are more like best- friends. We talk about everything. But opposite to our real equation, our relationship in the film is very strange. We are very distant from each other. We are grown apart as sibling in the film. But the common thing between our reel and real relationship is love and abundance. And that’s the common factor in our real relationship. But except this, there was nothing similar in our reel relationship.
Q. Do you help each other on the professional front? A.
Of course. She is my sister and we help each other in bettering our career’s graph. We need to look out for each other which is very important. And I would do this to any of my co-stars also, and since she is my sister, the reason is more obvious to look out for each other.
Q. Could you t alk about character in the film, Evil? A.
The guy I play is Kabir Merchant. He was 10 years old when he was convicted for killing his own father and was sent to juvenile prison. But both children at that point of time believed that it wasn’t Kabir who killed his father but it was the mirror. And the film is about how Kabir proves to the world that it wasn’t him but the mirror which was behind all this. Also, Kabir wants to move on in his life and wants to start his life. Also, the conflict is between the believer of evil which is Huma’s character and non- believer of evil which is my character. Pretty much what Dobaara is all about.
Q. Do you like horror flicks? A.
I like horror flicks. I enjoy them a lot and they can be a lot of fun.
Q. Was there any scene in the film where you really felt intimidated? A.
See, we are actors and we are used to playing different roles. Also, a horror film doesn’t mean that the film site is haunted. You have a certain philosophy as a human being and when you play any character in the film, that character has a certain philosophy in life. So, going by the character you have to think like the character and it could be similar to your thought in real life or may be opposite to it; but you have to play the role very convincingly onscreen.
“What I meant earlier that I don’t know anybody here and I have my own journey. But having said that, you compare it with somebody who is from a film family, then getting his/ her first film is bit easier in comparison. But now, I think we are living in an age where people decide whether they want to see you or not.”
Q. What kind of roles would you like to play in the future? A.
I would like to play all kinds of roles. Ever genre attracts me. Also, I am still exploring myself as an actor in each film and I sometimes think that I can also do the same thing in a very different way. So, the idea is you keep discovering your own self. Acting is such a profession that unless you perform, you will never be able to learn it. It’s the most practical thing. It’s a visual art.
Q. How would you describe your film, Dobaara? A.
Spooky and scary.