From multi-hero films to negative roles, Saif Ali Khan’s versatility holds him in good stead

Hero or villain, solo lead or multi-starrers—the Bollywood actor is game for anything as long as it lets him explore his craft

It’s difficult to write about Saif Ali Khan and his evolution as an actor without recalling the “Hum cake khaane kahin bhi jaa sakte hain” dialogue from 2001’s Dil Chahta Hai. This cheeky line, uttered with the most deadpan expression and superb comic timing, made the actor waltz right into the audience’s hearts. Over two decades later, at a promotional event for his latest movie Vikram Vedha, co-starring Hrithik Roshan, when a media person declares that he is a “Hrithik fanboy,” it is that same deadpan expression and cheeky tone that comes to the fore as Khan mutters, “Thanks, dude”. Roshan and the crowd burst out laughing.

But Khan is not playing to the galleries to get a few laughs. This is who he is. Roshan, who shares the screen space with him for the second time post Na Tum Jaano Na Hum in 2002, says that Khan is one of the most real actors he has worked with. This is a massive compliment, coming from a guy who has starred with some of the biggest actors in the country—including Amitabh Bachchan. However, this recognition from colleagues, the film industry and the audiences has taken its fair share of time to come his way.

Rollercoaster of a career

It is not as if actress Sharmila Tagore and former cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s son had it easy. Yes, hits such as Yeh Dillagi and Main Khiladi Tu Anari did come his way during the 1990s, but he also saw a string of flops in the form of utterly forgettable movies such as Pehchaan, Bambai Ka Babu, Surakshaa and Dil Tera Deewana among others. Nearly three decades and several ups and downs later—he made his debut in 1993 with Yash Chopra’s Parampara–Khan has emerged as a solid and dependable actor. His performances in movies such as Dil Chahta Hai, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Parineeta, Being Cyrus, Omkara, Tanhaji and the web series such as Sacred Games have shown that given the right script and director, this Khan can hold his own against any talented actor in the Hindi film industry.

The actor admits that his choice of selecting a film depends on different things at different times in life. “If in a perfect world where you don’t need to work, would you watch this film if you weren’t in it or are you just watching it because you are in it?” he muses aloud, adding that he would go for it if it is “a really nice story”. “It’s tough work. You have to leave your family, go and park yourself somewhere in Lucknow or someplace else for weeks—so it should be definitely worth it,” says the 52-year-old.

No comparisons

Unlike many other Bollywood stars, Khan is known to have a small coterie of close friends in the industry. Married to one of the biggest stars in the industry, Khan says he relies a lot on his wife Kareena Kapoor Khan’s opinion. “I watch my films with very few people, and she is someone whose opinion I really value. And, of course, she is a great actor,” he says. The actress recently posted a story on her social media page congratulating the team of Vikram Vedha and declaring the film to be a blockbuster. “She thought Hrithik was great and I was good, and the film is a blockbuster. At the film’s end, she said ‘I want to see it again’. It’s nice to hear that,” he adds with a smile.

The Hindi remake of the 2017 Tamil blockbuster of the same name has Khan playing the role of tough-as-nails inspector Vikram against dreaded gangster Vedha, played by Roshan. “I loved the movie when I watched it,” he says of the original, adding that he admired how R Madhavan played Vikram. At that time, he did think about how he would do some scenes differently than how Maddy approached them. “Just different takes, you know, as actors,” he muses. “I have never done a play, but I imagine that’s what happens in theatre when, say, there is a famous play like Hamlet. So many people have done it; it would be interesting to have your own take on it,” he adds.

Comparisons are part of the game, and Khan says he is ready for them. In fact, he welcomes them. “I respect Madhavan a lot as an actor. He’s such a handsome, rugged, cool guy who played Vedha with a lot of style. Somebody once told me that we are called stars because there is a galaxy of them, and each one is different from the other. I thought that was an apt way of putting it,” he shares.

No boxes, only good roles

A few days earlier, on an episode of Koffee with Karan Season 7, Akshay Kumar spoke about the difference between films from the South and Bollywood, stating how heroes in Hindi cinema are wary of doing two-hero or multi-hero films. Host and producer Karan Johar had agreed with the sentiment whole-heartedly, adding that it’s become impossible to cast a two-hero film.

Going by that logic, then, Khan’s trajectory in Hindi cinema is somewhat of a rarity. Parampara, his debut film, saw him sharing screen space with another Khan—Aamir. Right from Akshay Kumar in films such as Yeh Dillagi and Main Khiladi Tu Anari to Kal Ho Naa Ho with Shah Rukh Khan, Kachche Dhaage, Omkara and Tanhaji with Ajay Devgn, Parineeta with Sanjay Dutt, Rangoon with Shahid Kapoor and movies such as Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Saath Saath Hain and Race, his filmography is full of two-hero or multi-starrers. “I love two-hero films; I have grown up watching them,” is his simple answer to why he doesn’t mind sharing screen space with another star. 

Twenty years ago, Khan and Roshan were part of Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, a love triangle that was a disaster at the box office. This time, however, the buzz around Vikram Vedha seems to be pointing towards Kapoor-Khan’s prediction about the movie’s fate. Khan is visibly excited at the prospect of locking horns with Roshan in this big-screen entertainer and admits he’s a tad nervous, too, not for obvious reasons, though. “I have seen his [Roshan’s] films, and the most difficult thing is to look at anything when Hrithik is in the frame. It could be the most beautiful girl or the most beautiful sunset, but you can’t stop looking at this guy—he is such a gorgeous actor with great screen presence!” he exclaims, half in jest, but everyone knows it’s true.

At the end of the day, Khan just wants to do good work—it doesn’t matter if it’s a two-hero film like Vikram Vedha or has him playing an out-and-out evil guy, like his role as Udaybhan Singh Rathore in Tanhaji. His logic, again, is quite simple. “If one can do them all, it’s great as an actor. Putting us in boxes won’t do,” he signs off. Going by the films he has done and has in the pipeline, Khan won’t let us either.

Also Read: The fading charm of Bollywood and the juggernaut of South Indian cinema

Also Read: What’s it like to cook for a Bollywood star?

Also Read: Mirzapur actor Pankaj Tripathi on 10 years of Gangs of Wasseypur and finding success in Bollywood