Saqib Saleem Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Some lesser known facts about Saqib Saleem

• Saqib Saleem is an Indian actor, who predominantly works in Bollywood films. He gained popularity by appearing as Vishal Bhatt in the movie ‘Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge’ in 2011.
  

  Saqib in the movie ‘Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge’

• He has appeared in other Bollywood films like Mere Dad Ki Maruti (2013), Bombay Talkies (2013), Hawaa Hawaai (2014), Dishoom (2016), and Race 3 (2018).
  

  Saqib in the movie ‘Mere Dad Ki Maruti’

• In 2020, he was featured in the web series ‘Crackdown’ on Voot in which he played the role of a RAW agent.
  

  Saqib in the web series ‘Crackdown’

• He was also seen in the movie ’83’ in 2021 alongside Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Hardy Sandhu, and Ammy Virk.
  

  Saqib with Ranveer Singh during the shoot of the movie ’83’

• Saleem is a member of the cricket group ‘Mumbai Heroes’ in the non-professional men’s cricket league in India titled ‘Celebrity Cricket League.’
  

  Saqib playing cricket for the ‘Mumbai Heroes’

• When he was pursuing his graduation, he helped his father in running Saleem’s Restaurant in Delhi. His father owns a restaurant named Saleem’s that has 10 branches all around Delhi. Saqib did not like working at the restaurant. He wanted to go to Mumbai, but his father wanted him to stay in Delhi and pursue a Master of Business Administration degree.
  

  Saqib`s father`s restaurant

• He used to play cricket in Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. He is a very big fan of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. In an interview, he said,
  

  I cut a cake on his birthday every year. In fact, I even remember distributing sweets in my colony when his daughter Sara was born.”

  

  Saqib as a youngster with his cricket team

• He never thought of becoming an actor, but when he came to Mumbai, he started doing modelling and worked with various advertising brands like PepsiCo, Lays, Tata Docomo, Bar One, KFC, Airtel, Sprite and others. While he was modelling, he started gaining interest in acting. According to Saqib, he had to wait almost eight months to get his first film as an actor after he gave the audition for the film.

• In an interview, Saqib called himself an accidental actor as the first time he decided to become an actor was when he visited Mumbai to patch up with his girlfriend who had come to Mumbai to become an actor. In the interview, he elaborated that when his girlfriend came to Mumbai, he remained in Delhi, and the long-distance relationship created a difference between them. He further revealed that when he visited Mumbai to revive their relation, she again broke up with him after three months following which he decided to make his career in acting. ^[5]Hindustan Times

• Since his college days, he was interested in poetry. Amid the nationwide lockdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, he wrote a poem. In an interview, he talked about his interest and said,
  

  I have been jotting down notes and scribbling from college. So, I am writing down for a while but I think that the pandemic, more specifically lockdown, gave me time to be with myself and my notepad. That is how the writing process started again.”

• In an interview, when asked about the growing influence of OTT platforms, he said,
  

  I don’t blame actors or anyone, but when we were only reliant on theatrical films, everything was determined by the first Friday of a film’s release. ‘How much the film is going to open at? Is my film commercial enough? Should I do this to make it pop out more?’ Somewhere in there, you forget that your basic job is to act.”

• In 2020, after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Sushant`s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty was arrested. Many people from the industry, came in support of her. Saqib also supported her and later, he was trolled for it. He shared a screenshot on Instagram in which some people were abusing him. In the interview, while supporting Rhea, he said,
  

  I have lost faith in news channels as everyone has their own version about the case. They show point of view. The job of news channels is to report facts not to give a narrative to the audiences. I am upset. It is unfortunate that a young promising actor like Sushant is no more. No one knows what happened and the CBI, NCB, ED are investigating his death. We all want justice for Sushant and Rhea (Chakraborty, actor and Sushant’s girl friend).”

  

  Saqib with his friend Rhea

• He started a cricket academy for the underprivileged children in his hometown with the coach who used to train Saqib when he played cricket.
  

  Saqib`s cricket coach teaching underprivileged children

• While shooting for the film ’83’ in England, the cast of the film used to call him ‘Narad Muni.’ ^[6]CNN-News18- YouTube

• In an interview, he gave advice to budding actors and said,
  

  First and foremost, there should be clarity on why you are here in this industry. Do you want to act because you want to become a superstar or because you love doing it or both? It can be anything but one should be clear about that.”

• In an interview, Saqib talked about the anonymous social media users who take the advantage of their anonymity to troll and abuse celebrities and other people on various social media platforms. He said,
  

  When you are behind a computer screen and your real identity is not there, all you do is abuse people. I am from Delhi and I want to say to all these people, ‘If you have the courage, abuse me to my face.’ These are the same people who will be the first ones to run to meet celebrities if they spot them. I feel we interpret freedom of expression in a very wrong manner. Freedom of expression doesn’t mean I can abuse people, it means I can share my point of view. You are allowed to share your point of view, I am open to any sort of criticism but don’t abuse my mother, sister.”

• He is often featured on the cover of various magazines and tabloids with his sister Huma Qureshi.
  

  Saqib with his sister on the cover of a magazine

• He often posts pictures of his drinking habits on various social media platforms.
  

  Saqib`s Instagram post about his drinking habits

• Being a cricket fan, he has met cricketers M.S. Dhoni and Rahul Dravid.
  

  Saqib with Rahul Dravid

  

  Saqib with M.S. Dhoni

• He is an avid dog lover, and often posts pictures of them on social media.
  

  Saqib with his dog