Baby Do Die Do has been one of the most talked-about films in recent weeks. Instead of relying only on opening weekend numbers, the film has steadily found its audience through strong word of mouth, social media conversations and packed theatres. As both producer and actor with a special appearance in the film, Saqib Saleem has been closely involved in every stage of its journey. In an exclusive conversation with Filmfare, he spoke about the film’s growing popularity, why audience reactions matter more than numbers, working with Huma Qureshi and director Nachiket Samant, creating the viral Alpha Q song and how producing gives him a completely different creative high. Saqib admitted that he never expected Baby Do Die Do to become a part of pop culture. He said, “Absolutely not. We were just trying to figure out the best way to release the film. You always hope your film becomes a part of pop culture, but you can’t plan these things. Seeing the memes, the videos and all the audience reactions has been so heartwarming. Every city tour has been humbling because we make films for the audience. As creators, we can’t distance ourselves from them. We have to meet them, understand what they like and what they don’t. This film has helped us build that relationship. People aren’t just saying, ‘Great film.’ They’re writing long messages and paragraphs. As a filmmaker, you always hope to evoke emotions, and when people express exactly what you hoped they would feel, it’s incredibly special.”
Speaking about the industry’s focus on opening weekend collections, Saqib said he believes in letting a film grow naturally. He said, “I want my film to stay in theatres for as long as possible. It’s a theatrical film and I want people to experience it on the big screen. If the shows are houseful, theatres will naturally add more shows. I’m actually a fan of Test cricket, not T20. It’s about consistency. We are finding newer audiences every day. Someone who isn’t personally invested in my life needs time to discover the film. That’s completely okay. It’s been constant and consistent love. Life is tough. People have bills to pay and responsibilities. Watching a film may not be their first priority, but if they eventually choose your film, that’s a win. We need to respect that instead of obsessing over opening-day numbers.”
He also shared that while making the film, the team never tried to calculate audience reactions. He explained, “We make films for the audience, but we don’t create scenes thinking about how they’ll react. We simply try to make every scene the best it can be. If we enjoy it, we believe people like us will enjoy it too. None of us come from film families. We’ve all grown up as movie lovers. That’s the belief we work with. My collaboration with Nachiket has been very fruitful. We’ve been working together for almost six years. We did Comedy Couple together and this is the first time we had complete creative freedom. Nobody was telling us what to do. The whole team came together with one goal — to make the most unique film possible.”
Talking about Huma Qureshi’s role as India’s first deaf and mute hitwoman, Saqib revealed how much effort went into creating the character. He shared, “Being an actor myself, I’m part of every creative discussion. Huma is my sister, but beyond that, she’s an incredible actor. We wanted to push boundaries instead of making something safe. She’s known for her dialogue delivery, so we challenged ourselves by taking all that away and letting her perform through her eyes and body language. Originally, the character was Gujarati, but Huma suggested making her Marathi because she’d already played Gujarati characters before. We rewrote the character and asked her to communicate everything without words. She attended sign language workshops and every script reading, despite having no dialogues. She had to constantly understand everyone’s performances because we weren’t giving her any acting crutches. She accepted every challenge and always surprised us with what she brought to the role.”
The film also features a strong supporting cast including Chunky Panday, Sikandar Kher and Seema Pahwa. Praising them, he mentioned, “They’re all wonderful people and brilliant actors. They came prepared, knew their lines, improvised and had fun. My job was simply to create an atmosphere where they could do their best work. Not just Sikandar, Chunky sir and Seema ma’am, but every actor added their own flavour and joy to the film. These are characters people will remember for a long time.”
One of the biggest talking points from the film has been Saqib’s special appearance as Alpha Q. He revealed that he was never supposed to do it. He shared, “We wanted to make a clutter-breaking song with a lot of energy. I actually wanted someone else to perform it. I wasn’t even the first choice — I was the last resort. We approached many people and everyone showed interest, but since the song was pushing boundaries, there was hesitation. Then the director asked me who could truly understand what we were trying to do. His answer was, ‘You.’ We wanted to create a crazy song where the man becomes the item performer. We’ve objectified women in songs for years. We thought, why not objectify men for a change and make a statement? We referenced Magic Mike and then rehearsed for nearly 25 days, eight to ten hours every day. None of it came naturally to me, so I had to work really hard. Thankfully, people have understood the intention behind the song, and that’s been the most satisfying part.”
Finally, Saqib reflected on balancing acting and producing. He said, “Producing doesn’t replace acting. I simply love making movies. One day, I’d also love to direct. I believe there’s more to me than just being an actor. Acting gives me a very personal high because the appreciation is for my performance. Producing gives me a completely different kind of satisfaction because people appreciate the entire film and everyone’s work. Both experiences are equally fulfilling in their own ways.”
As Baby Do Die Do continues to win audiences over through positive word of mouth, Saqib Saleem is clearly enjoying every part of the journey, both in front of the camera and behind it.
Also Read: Ram Charan Praises Huma Qureshi’s Baby Do Die Do: ‘She Always Delivers Outstanding Performances’
