Having made a name for himself in the OTT space and cinema, actor Saqib Saleem has outdone himself with every role that he has played across platforms of storytelling. On the actor’s birthday, we bring you the five unforgettable performances that showed us he’s here to stay. 

83

Saqib stood out among the ensemble cast of Kabir Khan’s sports drama 83 as the calm and composed vice-captain Mohinder Amarnath. The film elicited appreciation for memorialising a glorious chapter of the Indian victory at the World Cup. In a country that worships cricket, playing the role of a World Cup-winning cricketer wasn’t easy because cricket fans observe their every move on and off the pitch. He rose to the challenge and emerged as the man of the moment with his spectacular performance. 

Unpaused: Naya Safar 

Saqib’s Teen Tigada from the anthology Unpaused: Naya Safar shed light on the fear and uncertainty brought into the lives of three crooks during the pandemic. It depicted the plight of those who had to resort to Illegal means for their survival. Saqib plays Chandan, an intense and short-tempered thief who wants to provide for his family. The actor attracted rave reviews for his ability to embody a character that was in contrast with his previous work.

Mere Dad Ki Maruti 

Mere Dad Ki Maruti witnessed Saqib as a Punjabi boy, Sameer Khullar. The film revolves around the events that follow after his reel father’s car is stolen in the bid to impress a girl. This is one of the first few films that had the actor drive the narrative. The actor’s portrayal came off as real and endearing and he surprised the audience with his comic timing.   

Crackdown

Saqib’s Crackdown is one of the most popular espionage thriller series on OTT. The actor headlines the series directed by Apoorva Lakhia in the role of Riyaz Pathan, a notorious spy. Saqib trained rigorously to be able to perform its action sequences and gained a lot of weight to lend authenticity to his character. The series is all set to hit the screens with its second installment and viewers can’t wait to see the actor revisit his role. 

Dishoom

Dishoom is a cop-action-comedy movie that saw Saqib in the role of Viraj Sharma, an Indian batsman. In this movie, the actor shared the screen with John Abraham, Varun Dhawan, and Jacqueline Fernandez. This was the first time we saw him in a cricketer’s role. Interestingly enough, the actor was trained by Mohinder Amarnath for film, and years later in 83, he got to play Amarnath himself.

(Featured Image Credits: Instagram)