Actor Saheem Khan Wins Big At CIFF Canada, Brings Home Best Actor & Best Foreign Language Film Award!

Indian film and television actor, Saheem Khan has made the country proud by winning the best actor award for his recent feature film Ekram, in the prestigious Creation International Film Festival, Canada. Incidentally so, till date he is the only Indian actor to have received an award in the concerned category. In addition to the above, the film Ekram, which is also the actor’s directorial debut, not only managed to grab the jury’s attention but also went on to win the best Foreign Film award. This was in continuation with the multi-talented actor’s current winning streak, as just a month ago, his short film Khatoon Ki Khidmat, also written and directed by Khan himself had the honour of being chosen to be showcased as a part of the highly acclaimed JIO MAMI Mumbai Film festival.

The film Ekram produced by Robab Khan under the banner of Mad Hat Productions and ITES Horizon Private Limited is written by Shamael Khan, with Nadeem Ansari as its cinematographer. The film which went on floors in the year 2017, comprises of a humble star cast but boasts of gripping performances. Saheem Khan is definitely a talented guy with a multi faceted persona. Apart from being a brilliant actor, Khan has also proven his mettle in the field of film writing and direction. His passion for cinema and the strive to continuously better himself is strongly reflected in his work and performances. And the melee of awards and recognition are just another stamp to prove this claim. However, only a few know about the young carefree Saheem, who had never really thought about stepping out of his hometown, forget about a career in films.

Belonging to a family of farmers, in the small town of Pratapgarh, Khan grew up to be a jaunty lad with a devil-may-care attitude. He liked acting and participated in school plays. He was quite good at it and had even received standing ovations from the crowd. But Khan never took it seriously, till his childhood friend Hasrat forced him see light. Infact, it was because of Hasrat’s continuous persistence that he finally realized his passion for acting and made up his mind to try his luck in the city of dreams. Khan also states that it was actually Hasrat who fought with his family and even bought him his first ticket to Mumbai, a gesture for which Khan will forever be indebted to his friend.

It was back in the year 2007, that Saheem Khan put his first foot in Mumbai. Eyes filled with starry dreams, and no back up plans, he was determined to do whatever it took to reach his goal. saheem m kkhan says that his first job in the city was of a driver which he took up as a means of sustenance. However, he soon realized that the job left him no time to work upon his acting skills. Thus he switched over to being a sales executive and took up theatre in the evenings. Soon he learnt his way around and started going in for auditions. And thus started his journey through multiple auditions and a plethora of casting directors. Though he did manage to score a minuscule role in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji, in the year 2011 but his break through came in the year 2013 when he was cast as the lead actor in the feature film Chehra. However, the film failed miserably at the box office. It were the reality based television shows like Crime Patrol Satark and Savdhaan India which gave Saheem his first dose of recognition and made him a household face. In the year 2017, Khan played a major role in the Raveena Tandon starrer film Matr, which garnered him critical praise.. Made within modest means, the shooting for Ekram, however, was completed in a short span of 15 days. Khan says he feels heart fully obliged to his stellar cast and crew, without whom achieving this enormous feat would not have been possible.

Moving on to his personal interests, Saheem Khan is a true Bollywood movie buff and enjoys all kinds of cinema. According to him every film teaches us something, even if that something is what not to do. However, on more serious lines, he is a great admirer of the actor Irrfan Khan and has never missed out on any of his films. Saheem draws his inspiration majorly from the works of profound filmmaker Majid Majidi and hopes to achieve atleast a minute percentage of Majidi’s depth in this lifetime. He also enjoys Anurag Kashyap’s work and confesses to spending hours binge watching his films over and over again. Besides acting, which is of course his first love, Khan is very fond of writing and hopes to continue doing so in future.

Looking back, from the carefree guy in Pratapgarh, to the focused actor today, it has been quite a journey for Saheem Khan. And though, this year has proved lucky for him, saheem m kkhan believes that he still has a very long road to travel ahead. The award and applause has only fueled his zeal all the more. Upon being questioned about his preference for commercial or art cinema, the actor specifically states that the only factor driving his preference is good content. The platforms of films, television or digital are not really the forward players in his decision making. Saheem also states that the current era in Indian film industry is very much content driven, which makes him all the more appreciative of having got the chance to be a part of it. Currently, Saheem Khan is working for an unnamed web series under a well known production house. With a strong determination and tenacious will like his, we feel that Saheem Khan could reach new heights and wish him all the very best for his future endeavours!