Actor Saqib Saleem opens up about his experience working in the OTT medium, his latest show Crime Beat and dealing with the pressure of social media.
Actor Saqib Saleem has showcased his versatility through a variety of roles since his debut in 2011. However, he believes the film industry and audiences often typecast actors based on a single role. In an interview with Screen, Saqib spoke about typecasting in the industry, his ZEE5 show Crime Beat and dealing with the pressure of social media.
Talking about typecasting and how OTT has slowly changed perceptions, Saqib said, “I am a greedy actor and I want to do all kinds of characters. I don’t want to be limited to one genre. I have always tried to do different things and I want to continue doing that. My goal is to do exciting work. I wouldn’t say stereotyping has stopped, but with the advent of OTT, the perspective has changed a bit.”
“Now, it has become a little easier to visualise different actors in different roles than before. But still, stereotyping happens. If you have played a role, people start thinking about you in a particular way. As an actor, you need to be patient,” the actor said.
When asked about his growing presence in the OTT space with projects like Kakuda, Citadel: Honey Bunny and others, Saqib Saleem replied, “People love good stories. If we can entertain and engage them, they are ready to watch any story.
Because of the format of OTT, it gives you a lot more time to go into the character study and sub-plots of the story. When you are doing a two-hour film, you are restricted. With OTT, you can push that limit and dive deeper into the background. There is a lot more to chew on!”
Saqib is currently enjoying the success of his ZEE5 show Crime Beat. Talking about what attracted him to this series, he said, “Sudhir Mishra was on my list of directors and this show was my dream come true. I had already read the book.
The story made me say yes to it. It was something I had never done before. It was an unconventional role of a journalist with a lot of action. That is what I liked the most about this character.” Saqib Saleem also spoke about dealing with the pressure of social media and the importance of isolation. “There is pressure on social media, one has to deal with it. I won’t lie about it because that’s the world we live in.
But, I don’t succumb to it anymore. I used to succumb earlier. Now, I think it’s better to know less than to know too much. With the information overload that social media platforms have caused, sometimes you lose objectivity about the truth. For me, ignorance is bliss. I try to isolate myself as much as I can from all this.”
Saqib Saleem express stereotyping still happens: ‘As an actor you have to be patient’
