2011-2012: Debut and breakthrough ,
Saba Azad and Nishant Dahaiya at the promotional event of
Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge in 2011. In 2011, one of his friends informed him that Bollywood film production house
Yash Raj Films (YRF) was auditioning for new faces. Saleem was interested and he gave his audition. Starring newcomers Nishant Dahiya and
Saba Azad, along with Saleem and
Tara D’Souza, the film was released under
Y-Films, a subsidiary of YRF. The role that Saleem had to play was that of a college prankster called Vishal Bhatt, who with his friend Hacky, go on playing pranks on their friends. Saleem explained that he "liked the script and I did it. I feel the youth will relate and connect with it. I think the movie will put me in a different light and open lot of doors for me." Her view was shared by
Nikhat Kazmi from
The Times of India, who added that the film "brimmed over" with youth iconography.
Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge scored high over the other releases like
Aazaan and
My Friend Pinto. The film collected about on the first day of its release, adding it to first weekend collection of about in the opening weekend. It was declared an average grosser by
Box Office India. By the end of 2011, Saleem was touted as the best newcomer of the year, with Robin Bansal from
Hindustan Times commenting that "Saleem's
American Pie college boy style is expected to take him places, if he manages to get plum film projects in the future." Critic Joginder Tuteja commented that although Saleem did not have the personality of a quintessential Bollywood hero, he made his presence felt in
Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge. "It will be a pity if he isn't seen in the years to come", concluded Tuteja. At the
57th Filmfare Awards, Saleem was nominated in the
Best Male Debut category.
2013-present: Recent work '' in 2013. The following year, Saleem appeared in
Y-Films's comedy
Mere Dad Ki Maruti, opposite
Rhea Chakraborty, which was directed by Ashima Chibber. The film revolves around a
Punjabi wedding, where a boy (played by Saleem) steals his father's car to impress a girl and portrays how his plans go astray. The year 2013 saw the release of the experimental anthology film
Bombay Talkies consisting of four short films. Saleem was part of the
Karan Johar's segment titled "
Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh", opposite
Rani Mukerji and
Randeep Hooda. He played the role of Avinash, a young homosexual man, who is infatuated by his co-worker's husband. Saleem followed this success with a lead role of Aniket Bhargava, a skating coach in the 2014 passionate drama
Hawaa Hawaai. Directed by
Amol Gupte, the film was proved to be a critical and commercial success, and Saleem received positive reviews for his performance; film critic Subhash K. Jha concluded, "Saqib is very cinematic, we witness the full force of Saqib's virtuosity. Noyon Jyoti Parasara wrote that "Saqib justifies his place". Saleem's next role was of a cricketer in the action thriller
Dishoom (2016), also starring
Varun Dhawan,
John Abraham and
Jacqueline Fernandez. Although Saleem said that the story of the film revolves around his character, critics noted that his "brief role" was overshadowed by the film's leading cast. The films was a commercial success. Despite mixed reviews, the film proved to be moderately successful at the box office. The
Relativity Media and
Balaji Telefilms joint-production
Dobaara: See Your Evil featured Saleem and her sister (Huma Qureshi) as the children who are convicted with their parents murder. Directed by
Prawaal Raman, the film was the official remake of the 2014 Hollywood film
Oculus, and received mixed reviews from critics. The romantic comedy
Dil Juunglee saw Saleem play a typical
Delhi boy who aspires to be an actor but falls in love with his best friend (played by
Taapsee Pannu). Although the film was poorly received and failed at the
Box Office India, Saleem and Pannu's on-screen chemistry was praised by several critics. Sweta Kausal of
Hindustan Times said that it was only "Taapsee Pannu's charm and Saqib Saleem's earthiness that keep the movie from getting unbearable." Renuka Vyavahare of
The Times of India commented "Barring the earnest performances of the lead actors and the supporting cast, there's absolutely nothing wild or memorable about the film." After this he has worked in action-thriller Race 3 directed by choreographer changed director
Remo D' Souza also starring
Salman Khan,
Jacqueline Fernandez, Daisy Shah,
Anil Kapoor. The film was commercial success.
Web series In 2018, he did his OTT debut with
ZEE5 Original web series
Rangbaaz wherein he portrayed the role of a notorious gangster which was based on a true story. In 2020, he played the role of an
RAW agent in
Voot's spy thriller web series named
Crackdown. ==Off-screen work==