Producer & Actor Saqib Saleem Reveals NOT Taking Any Remuneration for Baby Do Die Do: The intention was to make a film that needs to be made
Saqib Saleem, chose not to take any money so that more resources could be invested directly into the production. “Here, the intention is not to make money, but to make a film that needs to be made.”
Baby Do Die Do: Saqib Saleem on the Intention of Making a Film that Needs to be Made: I just need a small little opening in the door. Then, I’ll break it open
Saqib Saleem sits on the producer’s chair for Baby Do Die Do, a project that’s beyond a production venture under his banner, Saleem Siblings. For this venture, Saleem chose to take an independent route by self-funding the film, cutting costs from the top and betting on a novel storyline that can find its audience organically without the support of a usual studio system.
Saqib talked about the realisation to figure out “how can I make my film known enough to people that they get excited to watch it,” leading to screens and shows that will follow. “Here, the intention is not to make money, but to make a film that needs to be made,” he says while revealing that neither he, Huma Qureshi nor director Nachiket Samant took salaries just so that more resources could be allocated to the production.
Baby Do Die Do unites credible actors including Huma Qureshi, Chunky Panday, Seema Pahwa, Sikander Kher and others. Talking about the substantial cast, Saleem adds, “If all of us don’t come together and push people who we think are talented, then who will?”
The commitment to bring this film together came with a strict timeline for Saqib. “I knew I had to put this film on the floor in two weeks. The team had agreed to do the film because I had told them, ‘I believe in this.’ If I wanted to be the producer of this film, I needed to figure out how I could put this on the floor in two weeks. And we did that. We hustled and figured out what needs to be done. We raised money to make it. We put in our own. So, everything that you shouldn’t do to produce a film, we’ve done to produce this film. We’ve literally put our sweat and blood into this film,” he says
For Saleem, Baby Do Die Do is the opportunity to open the door of meaningful cinema. “I know that 99.9% everybody thinks that nothing is going to come off it. But I’m going to be that 0.1%. I just need a small little opening in the door. Then, I’ll break it open.”
The film released in theatres on July 3, 2026, and as a producer driven by meaning behind his creation, Saqib Saleem is experimenting boldly – for the big screens!