Saqib Ayub is well known for his impactful efficiency in Superboys of Malegaon, and previous to that, he gained fame for his portrayal of Anees Bhai within the hit Amazon Prime collection Farzi. Regardless of having restricted display time, his depiction of a gangster left a long-lasting impression on the viewers. In an unique chat with Pinkvilla, Saqib revealed that he was initially unaware of his rising recognition after Farzi and was pleasantly shocked by how rapidly the present achieved immense success inside only a month.
Saqib has additionally starred in Superboys of Malegaon, a critically acclaimed undertaking that was showcased at worldwide movie festivals. His journey started with Thugs of Hindostan (2018), the place he labored alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan. Saqib continues to discover various roles, with upcoming initiatives like HIT 3, First Copy, and Love in Vietnam.
In an unique chat with Pinkvilla, Saqib Ayub was requested about his journey from Farzi to Superboys of Malegaon and now HIT 3, he recalled, “So when Farzi was launched, I used to be taking pictures for Superboys of Malegaon in Nashik and sadly, I couldn’t attend the premiere additionally. My co-actor Mr. Vineet Kumar Singh had attended the premiere and when he got here again to Nashik for the shoot, he praised the present and my work and mentioned that the present would do very well. That was one thing actually reassuring.”
He continued, “My world went the wrong way up in a great way with this newfound fame. This new wave of recognition was one thing I had by no means skilled earlier than. Individuals began recognizing me in public locations—whether or not it was the seaside, a restaurant, and even after I was simply out for a espresso with buddies. They’d come as much as me, click on footage, and recognize my work.”
Ayub added, “They’d keep in mind me as Anees Bhai. It was overwhelming as a result of, within the present, I solely had display time of about 20 minutes over 14-15 days, but individuals remembered me. The present was a success, and I consider I did a reasonably good job, which made the popularity much more particular. In a nutshell, you may say that from Farzi to Superboys, I naturally transitioned from being a no person to changing into any person.”
Reflecting on his rising recognition with Farzi, he mentioned, “Farzi blew up in a month. I used to be fully unaware of my rising recognition whereas I used to be taking pictures for Superboys. Once I returned to Bombay after finishing the Nashik schedule, I noticed that I had develop into just a little bit well-known. Individuals would acknowledge me, recognize my work, and take footage with me.”
He then revealed, “Sadly, regardless that I had an excellent position in Love Adhura, the present didn’t do nicely. It was a well-made manufacturing with an excellent finances and gorgeous visuals, nearly like an prolonged theatrical model of Yaatri Kripya Dhyaan De on Amazon mini. However regardless of that, it didn’t work as anticipated.”
Talking about his preliminary days within the business, Saqib shared, “My journey goes again to 2017—eight years in the past—after I did my first function movie. It was a undertaking with Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan, two stalwarts of the movie business, and Yash Raj Movies. That movie holds immense worth for me, no matter its field workplace efficiency.”
Recalling his expertise working with Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan, he mentioned, “It was my studying floor, the place I acquired to look at and take up information from legends like Mr. Bachchan, Mr. Khan, and in addition Zeeshan Aayub, an outstanding actor of our time. Working with a world crew on an enormous set was a useful expertise on the units of Thugs of Hindostan. I discovered lots about how large-scale productions function—how every division features, how each crew member contributes to bringing a movie to life.”
He added, “Watching how a manufacturing like Yash Raj works on such a grand scale gave me a deep understanding of professionalism within the filmmaking enterprise. One other perk of engaged on that movie was the chance to journey and meet individuals from completely different elements of the world.”
Saqib talked about, “Our motion crew was overseas, our lighting crew was overseas, and even the native Maltese crew assisted in numerous departments like path, manufacturing, and catering. Seeing individuals from completely different cultures come collectively to create one thing significant was inspiring.”
Ayub shared, “In March 2024, Love Adhura was launched. Love Adhura was the title of the present. Then, in April 2024, I had one other milestone in my profession—I gave a TED Speak. Just a few months later, in July, I signed First Copy, and by August, I had began taking pictures for it. Within the months following Love Adhura’s launch, I additionally labored on a number of commercials earlier than First Copy occurred.”
He continued, “Then whereas taking pictures for First Copy in August, I acquired a name for Hit 3. Fortunately, at the moment, I used to be already in Hyderabad, which allowed me to take a while out and meet the director, Sailesh Kolanu. Essentially the most fascinating a part of the South Indian movie business is that they don’t normally conduct auditions.”
Including additional, he mentioned, “Once I acquired the decision, I used to be given a full narration of the script, which was a primary for me. Usually, in Bollywood, we don’t get narrations beforehand. They normally say, ‘If you’re locked for the position, then we’ll inform you concerning the characters, actors, and the whole lot else.’ Nonetheless, right here, regardless that I don’t have a significant half within the movie, I used to be nonetheless given all the script narration. That was fairly shocking for me.”
After the narration, he requested, “Okay, nice, how can we proceed with the audition?” To his astonishment, they responded, “Sir, we don’t want your audition. We all know your work, and we simply need to know should you’re concerned with doing this position.” That took him aback. He was amazed that regardless of the language distinction, they have been already acquainted with his work and trusted him sufficient to solid him with out an audition.
He added, “This was a deeply touching expertise for me. In Bollywood, even after working within the business for years, actors nonetheless must audition—even for commercials. After doing a lot work and proving ourselves repeatedly, we’re nonetheless requested to audition, generally even for smaller roles.”
Persevering with, he shared, “In a 12-year profession span, an actor might need to audition 10,000 instances. It may be disheartening to maintain proving oneself time and again. They typically say, ‘Please give an audition, the shopper must see it.’ It’s unlucky, however that’s how Bollywood features. The South Indian movie business, nonetheless, operates in another way, and I actually recognize that.”
Saqib concluded by saying, “So, I met the director, and he gave me a transparent concept of the script, my character, and the whole lot associated to the movie. My dates have been locked, and we shot in Jaipur and Hyderabad. I used to be additionally alleged to go to Srinagar for a portion of the shoot, however sadly, I used to be unavailable as I used to be taking pictures for an additional undertaking at the moment. So, they labored round it by utilizing my dupes for these scenes.”
When requested about his position in HIT 3, Saqib Ayub revealed, “My first Telugu movie is popping out on Might 1, HIT 3, which stars Nani sir within the lead. It’s the third a part of the HIT franchise. Nani sir performs a police officer investigating a collection of homicides, and I can’t actually disclose a lot concerning the movie.
He added, “I’ve additionally carried out a small cameo in Vikas Bahl’s movie, which stars Sudhanshu Trivedi and Wamiqa. That needs to be releasing within the subsequent 6 months. Other than that, there’s Love in Vietnam, directed by Rahat Kazmi sir.”
Saqib Ayub spoke about his expertise working with Nani and shared, “The taking pictures expertise with Nani sir was really inspiring. He’s an unimaginable particular person, and dealing with him was nothing in need of extraordinary. The complete course of was peaceable, relaxed, and extremely organized. Regardless of being a star, he stays humble and down-to-earth, making me really feel fully snug on set.”
He added, “Day by day, he would arrive on time, making certain the whole lot ran easily and punctually. He additionally gave me the house to carry out, permitting me to deliver my character to life with none restrictions. At one level, he even requested if I had a theatre background as a result of he observed my efficiency fashion and mentioned, ‘You seem like you’re from the stage.’ That was a humbling second for me.”
Saqib additional talked about, “The expertise of working with him was very completely different from Bollywood. Nani sir is really a gem of an individual, and it was an absolute honor and privilege to share the display with him in HIT 3.”
When requested how he landed the position in Superboys of Malegaon, Saqib Ayub recalled his expertise and shared that his method was fairly easy “It was all laid down within the script by Varun Grover, the author. Every little thing was crystal clear within the script, and we had a collection of workshops with Atul Moviyal, which helped us come collectively as a group.”
He continued, “Then, in fact, there was Reema’s steerage, together with Varun bhai’s inputs. We additionally had a dialect coach, Mr. Aleem, who is likely one of the characters within the movie. Throughout the shoot, we interacted with Naseer Bhai, Aleem, and folks from Malegaon, which added authenticity to our performances.”
Speaking about working with Reema Kagti, Saqib mentioned, “It was an outstanding expertise. She is an unimaginable director who is aware of precisely what she desires. I believe she already has her edit set in her thoughts whereas taking pictures. Working together with her was an enormous studying expertise as a result of she is impeccable, flawless, and crystal clear about her imaginative and prescient.”
He continued, “She can be very approachable, communicative, and empathetic, which made the entire course of much more satisfying. She is just the second feminine director I’ve labored with, and like some other director, she has her personal distinct manner of working. Total, the expertise was enlightening and an unimaginable studying curve for me. I hope to collaborate together with her once more.”
Saqib additionally opened up about his expertise working with Raj and DK on Farzi and shared, “They’re a duo director group, two completely different people who work collectively in excellent tandem. The most effective half about working with them is the large room they offer actors for improvisation. This was fairly evident in Farzi. If a scene was scripted for one web page, however we prolonged it just a little longer—perhaps making it two pages—they have been fully okay with it.”
He continued, “In reality, many of the prolonged scenes have been saved as they have been within the ultimate reduce. Their scripts are energetic, enjoyable, and fascinating. Taking part in the characters they create is an absolute pleasure. The credit score additionally goes to the writers, who’ve crafted Farzi and The Household Man.”
“The sort of characters they bring about to life makes working with them a tremendous journey. As I mentioned about Reema, working with Raj and DK was a very completely different studying expertise, every distinctive in its personal manner. As an actor, I really feel actually blessed to work with some wonderful administrators, ” mentioned Ayub.
Speaking about Love in Vietnam, Saqib revealed, “I acquired in contact with Rahat Kazmi whereas engaged on Love in Vietnam, an Indo-Vietnamese collaboration. The movie contains a lead actress from Vietnam, and Rahat sir himself hails from Jammu and Kashmir. Not many individuals find out about him, however he has carried out lots for the movie business in Jammu.”
He continued, “He has produced, directed, and acted in a number of movies there, contributing considerably to Jammu and Kashmir’s cinema tradition. That is essential as a result of India is a cinema-loving nation, and as you may have seen in Superboys of Malegaon, unbiased filmmakers like him are working tirelessly to create movies in regional languages and produce new tales to life.”
The actor added, “Working with him was additionally a unbelievable expertise. He is sort of a brother to me, and we share a robust bond. He gave me full artistic freedom to carry out my scenes and valued my inputs, which made Love in Vietnam an satisfying undertaking. I genuinely hope to collaborate with him once more on future initiatives and contribute my half to uplifting the movie and tv neighborhood in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Speaking about drawing experiences for his character in Superboys of Malegaon, the actor revealed, “I primarily drew experiences from actual life. In some ways, Anees is somebody like me, and I discovered it straightforward to affiliate with him. Language was by no means an issue since I’m from Bombay and naturally converse within the Bantai lingo with my closest buddies. Coming from a middle-class background, having frolicked on the streets, and being well-versed in Bombay slang made slipping into the character easy.”
He added, “As for taking part in a gangster, I took inspiration from numerous Bollywood movies about gangsters. Part of my childhood was spent in Bombay Central, Madanpura, and Dongri, so I might relate to that world not directly. All these private experiences, mixed with the robust script and unbelievable writing, helped me form the character. The liberty given to me to construct Anees in my very own manner additionally performed a vital position in bringing him to life.”
Saqib additionally expressed his emotions when the film was chosen for screening at a number of movie festivals. He shared, “When Superboys acquired chosen for worldwide movie festivals, it was overwhelming. If I needed to describe the sensation in a single phrase, it will be ‘surreal.’ Probably the greatest nights of my life. Little did I think about that I’d ever stroll the pink carpet of a prestigious worldwide movie pageant, and that too, with simply my third movie.”
He continued, “It’s really a blessing, and I’m immensely grateful for that. I can solely depend my blessings that I acquired to be a part of such a lovely story the place some actually wonderful individuals got here collectively to create one thing so particular. When the movie premiered in Toronto, strolling the pink carpet with so many followers, the paps, and even worldwide photographers interacting with us—it was completely unimaginable. That have will all the time maintain a particular place in my coronary heart.”
Saqib added, “I used to be simply humbled and very blissful. When the movie premiered, and as quickly because the present ended, we acquired an enormous standing ovation from a crowd of about 2,500 individuals. It lasted for five minutes, and we have been all so emotionally overwhelmed that we broke down collectively—Zoya, Reema, Naseer Bhai, Adarsh, and all of us.”
“We carried that emotional excessive with us for the remainder of the times we have been there. So as to add to that, the movie was so well-received that we have been acknowledged by individuals on the streets after the premiere. They appreciated us a lot, and getting that sort of love from overseas audiences was each humbling and overwhelming.”
“We simply hoped that the identical love would transition to India when the movie launched—and that’s precisely what occurred. It’s been operating for 3 weeks now, and the love we’re receiving from India has been phenomenal,” mentioned Ayub.
Speaking about his upcoming initiatives, Saqib mentioned, “I’ve some actually fascinating initiatives lined up. In April, one in every of my collection was launched on Amazon MX Participant, titled First Copy. It stars Munawar Faruqui within the lead, and I’m the parallel lead. It’s set within the early 2000s, and whereas I can’t disclose a lot about it, I can say it’s a unbelievable collection full of ups and downs, feelings, and drama. I’m additionally wanting ahead to HIT 3.”
From his breakthrough in Farzi to the overwhelming response for Superboys of Malegaon and now moving into the Telugu movie business with HIT 3, Saqib’s profession has been a testomony to his dedication, versatility, and keenness for his craft
Additionally Learn
Meet James, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s information in Masai Mara who witnessed couple’s safari proposal firsthand