Dobaara: If my films don’t do well, I won’t get work, says Saqib Saleem

Saqib Saleem says he has to be cautious while choosing the his films as he is not an industry insider and will not get a second chance to prove himself. Saqib’s father Saleem Qureshi is a restaurateur, and runs a chain of restaurants called Saleem’s in Delhi. His sister Huma Qureshi is a Bollywood actor.

The actor says he is not bothered by people questioning him for doing less number of films as his focus is on choosing the right movies. “To find a good script is very important, because the chances and opportunities I would be getting will be very far and few. I am not from here (film industry), I come from Delhi, I’ve nothing to do with this. To make inroads here, I’ve to find the right films. If my films don’t do well, nobody is going to give me films,” said Saqib.

The 29-year-old actor says instead of doing 10 mediocre films, it’s better to do one good project. “It becomes important to do the right films, than do 10 films in a year. You may do it once, but it’ll never happen again. If you screw up five films straight, then you’re done. It’s a business, the producer invests money and you need to make sure his money is recovered and in the process you give out the best film,” he says.

Saqib made his debut in 2011 with Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge and then starred in films like Mere Dad Ki Maruti, Bombay Talkies, Hawaa Hawaai and Dishoom.

He is awaiting the release of his next film Dobaara which also stars his sister Huma.

Saqib is aware that new actors constantly keep coming in the film industry, but he isn’t interested in trying to catch up to them. “I can’t fight that (newcomers coming in). They do their job, I do mine. What my work is, nobody can take from me. All I can do is work hard. I don’t look at things like ‘what is he getting?’, it’s better to focus on ‘what can I do’,” he says.

This year the actor has two releases. Dobaara, a supernatural-horror film, and a love story with Taapsee Pannu. “The film with Taapsee that I have almost completed is Makhna, it’s tentatively called that. Just a couple of songs are left which I’ll shoot. I think it should release sometime towards the end of the year, by November,” he says.