Saleem Shah is one of the few actors of Bollywood who has had a chequered career in the media industry for the last 27 years. He has acted in a combination of art movies like English August, Naseem, Antarnaad, Mammo and commercial blockbusters like Sarfarosh, Fanaa, Soocha Na Tha, Apne Dam Par, etc.
He has also enacted powerful performance oriented roles in almost more than 50 popular television serials like Just Mohabbat, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi, Adaalat, Kashmir, Nazdeekiyaan, Kagaz Ki Kashti, Maan, CID, Keshav Pandit, Aahat, Nargis, Saboot, Koi Dil Mein Hai, Baal Baal Bache, Byomkesh Bakshi, Meri Aawaz ko Mil Gayee Roshni, Sanjeevani and many more.
Theatre being his first love, he has directed/acted in about 2 dozen plays, namely Panchi Aise Aate Hain, Same Time, Next Year, Prisoner of Second Avenue, Woody Allen’s Side-Effects, Pakistan Aur Alzheimer’s, Bhelpoori, Ticket To Heaven, Julius Caesar, Man Disposes, God Proposes, Insey Milye, The Adding Machine, Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai, Shuturmurgh, The Proposal, and others.
He has also been imparting acting training and has been holding acting workshops from the last decade and half. More than a thousand participants have participated in his workshops. He has also trained professional actors for feature films, namely Salaam India and Lahore, among others.