Saqib Saleem on glamourised Bollywood cops: ‘Audience wants to see the human side ’ | Exclusive

After ten years in the industry, Saqib Saleem is not chasing noise anymore, but is in an experimental phase, driven by the excitement of taking on roles that bring out the best in him. After more than a decade of navigating this creative profession called acting, the actor has found himself stepping into the world of Kaptaan, where he plays a cop for the first time.

Speaking exclusively to WION, when asked about what scares him the most whenever he signs up for a new project, Saleem said that while it is always thrilling to enter a new space and mindset, it is equally intimidating. However, he believes this fear is important to have. In the series, he plays the police officer Samardeep Singh, the central character around whom the story revolves. Speaking about the pressure of shouldering the narrative, Saleem said that a great deal of mental work goes into it, and that one has to let go of their real self to fully immerse themselves into character.

Read the edited excerpts from the chat below:

WION: What was your first reaction when Kaptaan came your way?

Saqib Saleem: I was quite thrilled when I received the first call for Kaptaan. It is a fresh, intense role of a cop, something that I have never done before. The setup is explosive; it goes from high-octane action to mind games and chase sequences. So, there was this curiosity to see what it could bring out of me, and what I could bring to the table. There wasn’t a slight bit of a chance for me to say ‘no’ to Kaptaan.

WION: You’ve played intense/bad-boy roles before, and now a cop, what’s more fun to play?

Saqib Saleem: Both are equally fun. Both bring out shades of you that nobody has seen before, including you. And you can see the kind of imagination that goes behind creating intense roles, including a cop. Both roles tap into very different emotional and psychological spaces, which is what makes them exciting for an actor. When you play bad boy or intense roles, you get to explore darker shades, impulses and moral ambiguity, all of which push you towards emotions that are usually suppressed in real life.

WION: You are the central character of the show. What kind of pressure comes with carrying the entire story?

Saqib Saleem: Being the central character of the show and shouldering the narrative definitely comes with pressure, but it is also equally rewarding. There’s an expectation to stay consistent and live the character instead of simply playing it; overall, an actor is setting the whole atmosphere of a show. There’s mental work also. You have to let go of your real self to be present as the character every single day. But honestly, I try not to take it as pressure alone. The pressure is of the good kind, one that pushes you beyond your limitations.

WION: Physical transformation is visible, but what was the invisible transformation you went through?

Saqib Saleem: Honestly, physical transformation is just the surface; the internal transformation is what people don’t really see. For Kaptaan, I had to rewire myself to think the way my character does. He has a certain way of handling emotions, reacting to them, handling conflict and how his mind works is simply astonishing. Getting into its nature also affected my emotional space. I wasn’t more of me. When you play an intense character and get deeper into the arcs of it, you start reacting more like it and less like yourself. And to get a hold of that is equally challenging as getting physically toned.

WION: Whenever you sign up for a project, what scares you the most?

Saqib Saleem: Doing justice to the character. What’s the point if you're saying ‘yes’ to a project but can’t let the character shine! There’s that. But practically, there’s also the fear of the unknown, the unpredictability that comes with the narrative, the world-building or even the nature of your character. It’s thrilling to enter a new space and a new mindset, but it’s also equally intimidating. I also think that this fear is important. If a project or a character isn’t scaring you a little, then it’s not challenging you as an actor.

WION: Do you think Bollywood has glamorised cops too much over the years?

Saqib Saleem: I would say that there has been a slight tendency, but overall, that’s the nature of cinema and entertainment. There’s also a shift. The audience is more inclined to the layers that come with cop portrayals. Today, it has gone beyond heroic entries, slow-motion action or even punchlines. The audience wants to see the human side of a cop more than the heroics. And that’s exactly what has offered us even bigger space to explore.

WION: At this stage in your career, what are you chasing more, validation, growth, or legacy?

Saqib Saleem: Definitely growth. Of course, appreciation feels great; it gives you the reassurance of being on the right path, but it can only take you forward so much. Right now, what excites me the most is to see myself in roles and shades that bring out the best of me, whether positive or negative ones. You get to learn the most when you are experimenting, and that’s exactly what I’d like to do.

WION: What’s one myth about being an actor that you want to break?

Saqib Saleem: One myth I’d really like to break is the perception of ‘easy accessibility’. I agree that the rewards are incredibly heartwarming, but there’s immense hard work to achieve those rewards. What’s usually seen is the glamour that comes in front of the camera. But it’s also about what goes behind the camera, the constant push to keep going, the rigorous shooting schedules and internal work. So, the accessibility is there, but there are also day/night efforts that make it happen.

Kaptaan is streaming on MX Player.