Juhi Chakraborty (HINDUSTAN TIMES; September 11, 2020)

The Hindi film industry, in the past few months, has been under the scanner, with many accusing it of being a big bad world where there is a culture of sidelining, groupism and drugs. Actor Saqib Saleem, however, feels that the narrative is getting a bit out of control.

He says, “I love the industry, this place has given me work and an identity. I am just a boy from Delhi; this place has given me love and respect. Every industry has all sorts of people, I don’t know why we judge the industry so severely at all times, maybe because of the attention and glamour attached to it. I am still understanding it.”

The actor, who has been a part of the industry since 2011, says his experience has been nothing but great. He also prefers not to delve too much into the outsiders vs insiders and nepotism debates.

“I don’t need validation from everybody. I need validation from people who are close to me, and till the time I get it, I am happy. I am not competing with anybody. I am generating the work that I like to do and I am doing it, irrespective of how the industry functions. I just know how I would like to function,” he asserts.

Saleem, 32, also feels nobody is ever forced to choose this profession, so there’s no reason to cry foul about the industry.

“Nobody told me to come to Mumbai, be an actor. I decided that myself. If it was easy, everybody would do it. But, it is not, nothing in life is easy. I think to blame the industry for anything is wrong. It is individuals who take decisions that determine who they are, that is not necessarily what the industry is,” he says, adding, “There are good people and bad people, you decide who you want to be with and work with.”