[1] He is the son of the famous singer Ustad Puran Shah Koti,[5] At the age of six Saleem also became his disciple and started learning singing.

[6] At the age of seven, he gave his first public performance at the opening ceremony of Bathinda Doordarshan (TV station), with his song, Charkhe Di Ghook, and thus earned the name Master Saleem.

[6] He made his comeback in 2000, with the Sufi number Aj Hona Deedar Mahi da, which he sang at a New Year's programme at Doordarshan channel, and later released albums dedicated to Goddess Durga including, Mela Maiya Da (2004), Aj Hai Jagrata, Meri Maiya and Darshan Kar Lao.

[7] Eventually Shankar Mahadevan, of the music trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, heard his performances at a jagaran at the Devi Talaab Mandir, Jalandhar, being aired on a religious TV channel, and thus Saleem made his debut as playback singer with single "Mast Kalandar" from the film Heyy Babyy (2007) under their music direction.

[2][7] and in 2010 some of his hit songs have been "Humka Peeni Hai" from "Dabangg and "Shakira" in "No Problem and "Chamki Jawani" in Yamla Pagla Deewana.