Farah Khan says Salim Khan was sceptical about Salman Khan pursuing acting, much like Saqib Saleem's dad; Huma Qureshi reveals why mom Ameena said no to acting

Indian Express

6 days ago

When two of their four children, and that too in a gap of six months, came up to them and shared their aspirations to pursue film acting, it took restaurateur Saleem and his wife Ameena Qureshi by surprise. Not just that they did not have any prior connection to the film industry, but the Qureshis did not even live in Mumbai, where Bollywood was based. While Saleem belonged to Delhi itself, where the family lived, Ameena hailed from Kashmir. Although shocked and scared at first, they agreed to their children Huma and Saqib's wish, allowing them to move to Mumbai to pursue their cinema dreams.
'Mom was a little scared, particularly since we didn't know anyone in Mumbai,' Huma Qureshi told filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan during a recent appearance on her vlog. 'Both our parents were very scared, wondering how we would survive. I was the first to reveal my acting aspirations, and six months later, Saqib followed suit,' she said.
Recalling having a conversation about it with their father, Saqib Saleem said, 'When I told papa that I wished to go to Bombay, he sat down, looked at me and said, 'Tujhe hero banna jana hai (you want to become a hero)?' He put so much doubt in my mind that it took me 10 days to make that decision.'
In an act of encouragement, Farah Khan revealed that another father, too, had once expressed doubts regarding his son's potential to become an actor, but the latter eventually proved the old man wrong. 'Salim Khan had the same doubt about Salman Khan and now he's bhai,' she stated, lifting Saqib's spirits considerably. He yelled, 'Fantastic, fantastic!'
As the conversation progressed, Farah remarked that Ameena was far more gorgeous than Huma and Saqib, and asked if she had ever aspired to become an actor. Sensing an opportunity, Ameena jokingly asked the filmmaker to launch her and enquired about her next project. Sensing where the conversation was headed, Farah quickly quipped that she had to leave urgently as she was getting a call.
A post shared by Saqib Saleem (@saqibsaleem)
A post shared by Saqib Saleem (@saqibsaleem)
A post shared by Saqib Saleem (@saqibsaleem)
Nonetheless, Saqib Saleem revealed that his mother Ameena had received acting offers earlier. Mentioning that YRF's casting director, Shanoo Sharma, called Ameena not once but twice, they shared that she, however, turned down the offer. 'When Shanoo Sharma called, I was happy thinking I finally got a call from YRF. But she had phoned to ask if mom was interested in acting. Though I was heartbroken, I told her I would ask my mom. This was the time when they were making Daawat-e-Ishq (2014), and mom was considered to play Parineeti Chopra's mother. But she didn't want to play another person's mother and hence turned it down,' Huma shared. Saqib, meanwhile, quipped that their mother would only agree to playing Amitabh Bachchan's heroine.
When asked if they ever got beatings from their mother, Huma and Saqib said in unison that Ameena hit them quite often while growing up. 'She used to beat us a lot. I just want to tell all those parents who hit their kids, if you think your beating will change your children, it won't. Look at us. They only get worse,' she added.