Actor Saqib Saleem, recently featured in the web series ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny’ speaks exclusively to mid-day.com about his role as Agent KD in the Raj and DK directorial. Saqib opens up about the love and appreciation he has received for his brief stint, bonding with co-actor Varun Dhawan, and his controversial absence from the trailer launch.
How Saqib Saleem came on board to play Agent KD
Saqib Saleem recalls the first time he spoke to Raj and DK when they offered him the role of Agent KD. “The only question I asked them was, ‘Why me?’. Raj sir looked at me and said, ‘Because nobody`s thought of you like that’. I was given a very good written part and I just poured my heart into it.”
Elaborating on his character, Saqib explained, “People call it the antagonist, the anti-hero, but I`d like to say that in my head, KD was his hero. He had reasons to do what he was doing. Why and who he was killing, and it was all motivated out of love. I`m just overwhelmed and very humbled and grateful for all the love that`s coming my way. We all work for love, don`t we? We all want validation from people. And I`m at that stage right now where maybe I needed this burst of energy.”
Saqib Saleem on shaving his head for ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny’
While Saqib had his reservations to shave his head for the role, he went ahead with it, which eventually paid off. The actor recalled, “When I had gone and met them (Raj and DK) I had given them this idea that I think I should shave off my head and they jumped at it. I felt like they would have also wanted that though they never communicated it with me. But when it came to cutting my hair, I was very nervous because I`m the only male member in my family who has hair left now. Everybody else is bald (laughs).”
Saqib Saleem on reports of a rift with the makers
Saqib’s absence at the trailer led many to believe he was miffed with the makers. Sharing his stance on the same, he asserts, “There was a narrative that the makers wanted to give out and that narrative concealed the impact of my character. So, my being there would have been detrimental to that narrative.”
“I always believe that it`s very important for your work to come out and then you talk to people. Usually hum release se pehle prachar karte hain aur release hote hi holiday pe chale jate hain. I want to change that a little. I feel like it`s better conversation post-release,” the actor concludes.