Salim Baig is an Indian actor who has appeared in Telugu and Tamil language films. He is best known for his collaborations with director Gautham Vasudev Menon, having notably appeared as the antagonist in the police dramas Gharshana (2004) and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006). The success of the films prompted several filmmakers to cast him in similar negative roles in the late 2000s.[1]

Salim Baig
Born
Mohammed Salim Baig
Other namesSalim Panda
OccupationActor
Years active2004–2021

Career

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Salim Baig was born and brought up in Mumbai and began his career in the entertainment industry as a model and then as a theatre artiste. Soon after competing in the Mr. Junior Mumbai competition, he received a call from director Teja who subsequently cast him in the Telugu action film, Jai (2004). The film's cinematographer Ravi Varman introduced him to director Gautham Vasudev Menon, who gave Salim his acting breakthrough, by casting him as a notorious gangster seeking revenge in the police drama Gharshana (2004). The success of the film prompted him to use his character name of "Panda" as a suffix to his stage name. About his performance, a critic from Indiaglitz.com wrote "newcomer Saleem Baig, despite a poor voice (dubbed), as the cold-blooded, revenge-seeking Panda is first rate" and that "he never misses a trick in the book and triumphs in this significant role for him".[2][3] The opportunity allowed him to work on more big budget Telugu films such as Chiranjeevi's Andarivaadu (2005), Jagapati (2005) and Andhrudu (2005) during the following year. Menon then cast him again in his first Tamil film, the police drama Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006) which had Kamal Haasan in the lead role, Alongside Daniel Balaji, Salim portrayed a homosexual medical student who turns into a psycho killer, and the film opened to critical and commercial acclaim.[4]

Filmography

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Year Film Role Language Notes
2004 Jai Villain Telugu
2004 Gharshana Panda Telugu
2005 Andarivaadu Pandu Telugu
2005 Jagapati MLA Goud's brother Telugu
2005 Andhrudu Sinha/Munna Telugu
2006 Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu Ilamaran Anandhan Tamil
2007 Don Robin Telugu
2008 Adivishnu Telugu
2008 Okka Magaadu Telugu
2009 Abhay Pandu Kannada
2009 Kasko Alauddin Telugu
2010 Seeta Ramula Kalyanam Veera Pratap Telugu
2010 Golimaar David Telugu
2011 Inki Toh Aisi Ki Thaisi Hyderabadi
2011 Bodyguard Mhatre's brother Hindi
2012 Thadaiyara Thaakka Tamil
2014 Legend James Telugu
2014 Prematho Nuvvu Vastavani Telugu
2018 Dhruva Natchathiram Tamil Filming
2019 Vinaya Vidheya Rama Ranjit Singh, Bhai's henchman Telugu
2020 Guns of Banaras Tiwari Hindi
2021 Radhe Nazamuddin Hindi
2021 Aaradugula Bullet Shankar's henchmen Telugu

References

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  1. ^ "Haasan is brilliant in Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu".
  2. ^ "Telugu cinema Review - Gharshana - Venkatesh, Asin - Gowtam Menon - Harris Jayaraj".
  3. ^ "Gharshana review. Gharshana Malayalam movie review, story, rating".
  4. ^ "Interview with Salim Panda". Idlebrain.com.
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