Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 16, 2020)

Saqib Saleem, who turned 32 on April 8, celebrated a low-key birthday with his sister, actor Huma S Qureshi. “I had a virtual birthday party. I had video chats with my friends and family... Huma made a lovely cake. Huma, my beautiful pet Streak, and I spent a wonderful time.”

Saleem says that the health crisis has taught him gratitude and the value of family. “We tend to get so busy focusing on the things we want to achieve that we forget about the people who mean [a lot] to us. The Coronavirus pandemic has made me realise how blessed I am to be alive, to have food on the table and have loved ones around,” he shares, adding that the lockdown period is strengthening his bond with Huma.

“We have good and bad days. Sometimes we spend the whole day watching something together. I help her when she’s cooking. And then there are days when we fight... We have discovered that we love playing chess. We keep having chess marathons. Our friends join us via video chat because they enjoy our banter. We’ve also started talking a lot to each other,” Saleem says.