Saif Ali Khan is an actor who has both cajoled and charmed moviegoers into accepting a different kind of hero. A hero, who is sometimes romantic, sometimes mean, often funny but always human. After more than a decade of somehow getting by in the film industry, these days Saif Ali Khan is accepted as a fine actor. One sure sign that Saif has arrived is the number of brands he is endorsing. At the last count it was six brands, approximating at Rs 12 crore. And that has catapulted him to being a star endorser after Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. Saif is currently working on Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya and Vishal Bharadwaj's Omkara. Saif Ali Khan talks with CNN-IBN's Anuradha SenGupta on what it is like being Saif.
Anuradha SenGupta: Saif, I am going to start with a couple of questions that have come from the viewers. And the first one is from Dev, from Chennai who says, "Hi, How are you?" and then there is Shobha also from Chennai who says "Are you happy about the way your life is going at this point of time?”
Saif Ali Khan: First of all, I would like to say hi! For Dev from Chennai - I am fine thank you. And whether I am happy with the way my life is going right now - yes, very much so.
Anuradha SenGupta: And currently you are doing well?
Saif Ali Khan: Yes. I mean it is how you look at it really. I choose to look at it that it is really great. I am actually really lucky that I have got a great job. I have wonderful children and a great family. And there are many things in my life, which are loaded with the potential for extreme greatness and happiness.
Anuradha SenGupta: So, I think Shobha from Chennai should be happy with that answer.
Saif Ali Khan: Yes, it is better than fine thanks. (laughs)
Anuradha SenGupta: In 1999 or 1998 rather, when you had just begun shooting for Hum Saath Saath Hain, it would be very easy to ask what has been going wrong with the films that you have been doing? In 2006, it is very easy to say what is going right with everything that you are doing off late, in terms of the work that you are doing.
Saif Ali Khan: Last year, I think every decision that I took was based on the fact that I was very clear that it will go right. Right from doing Parineeta to Salaam Namaste, which was after Hum Tum. So, I was pretty clear that this was the right path. This year is slightly different, I mean I am a little clueless as to what I should do next. And I am still choosing films instinctively. When I came into movies we were being given different versions of scripts that were primarily written for Amitabh Bachchan and Sashi Kapoor. Especially in two-hero films like Parampara and Yeh Dillagi.
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Anuradha SenGupta: But don't tell me, you did not like Yeh Dillagi, because I loved it. I have had faith in Saif Ali Khan since then. And then came Main Khiladi Tu Anari.
Saif Ali Khan: I really wish, as a professional that there were 20 writers and maybe 15 directors who really knew their craft. And then when they came with their film, one would have the confidence that they clearly know and understand the structure of the movie and that you are in safe hands with them. It is a good job, you can make a lot of money and there is the fame aspect also but one can also pay a price for being an actor - couple of wrong decisions and you get most of the flak.
Anuradha SenGupta: Would you like an equation like Satyajit Ray to Sharmila Tagore for yourself someday?
Saif Ali Khan: Yes, I think someday. In the past I have said that whatever I have done, should be watched by as many people as possible and the effort should be appreciated. And again in the past, it also mattered that the film should make money.
Now, I think a balance between commercial films and doing something to workout your talent, which gives you peace enough to say that - yes, I am an actor and this is what I actually do for a living.
I cannot see myself being a candyfloss boy only. I don't think that is serious acting. Though, it is an art also. Such films have a kind of suspended disbelief of the Yashraaj movie where the real thing is also done on a slightly unreal level. But, I would hate to say that that is all I do.
Anuradha SenGupta: I think a lot of people will be happy to hear that. But, everybody wants to know if you have now and maybe it is a bit unfair because it took you a long time to reach where you are now and I can understand that you want to be a bit comfortable where you are but have you got into a comfort zone?
Saif Ali Khan: Let me just go back to where you mentioned Satyajit Ray and amma (Sharmila Tagore). I went to the Mariken film festival and I have always known that she was a very big star at one point of time - I mean a number one star which seems to be an important tag in commercial cinema.
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But, nobody was really interested in that kind of work that she had done. What they were interested in were like her work in Devi and even Martin Scorcese was talking about it. So I suddenly got a feeling that this is what has contributed to her image and stardom in those days is perhaps a combination of being a stylish and glamour doll plus being an actor.
I think if we remove the Bengal angle and the Kolkata filmmakers from that body of work, it will diminish drastically. Like, a film like Ek Haseena Thi meant a lot to me, even if it was not commercially successful. A few filmmakers saw it and so another facet to my personality was revealed to them, which they thought they could use in a more serious way.
Otherwise, unfortunately we tend to be known by what people perceive us through some film that they have seen. Even colleagues are sometimes just not prepared in a way to accept certain things about you - till you are actually successful in a solo film, unfortunately. And that means business - that is if you are bankable star then things tend to change slightly.
I think after achieving that, I was so relieved. And I knew that it would happen after doing Kal Ho Na Ho with Shah Rukh Khan. That if someone was to offer me a my-kind-of-movie in my-kind-of-space, I could make it happen.
Anuradha SenGupta: So, then Hum Tum did that.
Saif Ali Khan: It came just at the right time and when I was all set to prove something. And the script was just tailor-made for me, though it wasn't written for me at all.
Anuradha SenGupta: So that question I had about coming out of the comfort zone and what keeps you in the comfort zone. What do you think?
Saif Ali Khan: You look back and I think there have been few actors who have stayed in the comfort zone in Hindi movies. And after a while it just finishes and....
Anuradha SenGupta: And you become a caricature of yourself in that sense.
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Saif Ali Khan: Yes, and I think that if you follow the principle of - what would be really interesting for me to do might be interesting for other people to watch also. There is a comfort zone with films like Salaam Namaste and Hum Tum which I also feel I can do better than anybody else.
Anuradha SenGupta: Are actors more insecure than anybody else and any other profession?
Saif Ali Khan: I cannot speak for others but I was insecure and I think the root of insecurity is not knowing your job and it is a bit irreverent. It is bordering on atheism on some sort of way to turn up and say - 'no am good and I'll do it properly.'
It is too arrogant and I think it is something that should be kept quiet about and but I like it. But when the top superstars of this country are so humble and say that 'we are lucky to reach where we have,’ then one begins to think.
Humility is the unspoken language of our profession. I am not as insure as I was. My problems are to do with myself only - its about going to the gym, not eating too much, or not drifting off mentally. Everything is on a platter, it’s just a question of focusing.
Anuradha SenGupta: I was really excited about this interview because I was thinking of those English classifieds where people try to meet other people and there is abbreviation that says GSOH which stands for good sense of humour and everytime I have seen you, either on-screen or even in your interviews it’s almost as if you have got your tongue almost always firmly in your cheek. Now is that me or...?
Saif Ali Khan: (Laughs) No, again it is one of those things like I think it is hysterical to laugh at myself. I think we all have been brought up like that - my sisters and I are like that. And I think if you can laugh at yourself then it is not very difficult to laugh at some of the situations we find ourselves in. Humour is important.
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Anuradha SenGupta: Being self-deprecatory is an art?
Saif Ali Khan: I think the philosophy behind it is that if you put yourself down a lot then others won't.
Anuradha SenGupta: Everything was like a PG Woodhouse book, isn't it?
Saif Ali Khan: I love PG Woodhouse. Why, do I remind you of Bertie Wooster?
Anuradha SenGupta: No, not Bertie Wooster. But it is as if you lived in that space.
Saif Ali Khan: It's interesting you say that. I am a History student and I love reading about the past in many ways. And as opposed to looking at the future, I do wish I had been born in the '20s or the '30s.
Anuradha SenGupta: When women just started smoking.
Saif Ali Khan: Yes, and when everyone thought it was good for you! For everything, from fashion to music to the kind of cars, to also the kind of sports that was played and the manners. Yes, I sometimes I think I was born a little bit out of my time. But as far as being funny, well, it is also not that nice to have that expected of you.
Then you suddenly get that feeling that people around you don't take you seriously. But the cool thing is, in this profession the only thing that is taken seriously is box-office success. So, if you have that with you, then you can do what you want to and be as silly as you want to be.
Anuradha SenGupta: When did you stop laughing at the film industry that you wanted to be a part of?
Saif Ali Khan: Again all the laughter was coming out of insecurity and just picking on a couple of people - the likes of the loudly dressed ones or the ones who wore white shoes and white pants. I think the difference was focusing on Amitabh Bachchan, because to me he is simply amazing given the situations of some of the films he has worked in.
And then forming a different kind of philosophy was also required like 'look I am getting paid and I am here, doesn't matter if the set is not so nice,' 'doesn't matter if the colours are not working, I must work to deliver'.
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Anuradha SenGupta: When you look at the films that you have done, Yeh Dillagi, Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Dil Chahta Hai, Darna Mana Hai, Ek Haseena Thi, Hum Tum, Kal Ho Na Ho, Parineeta and Salaam Namaste. Now if you look at this body of work and if you leave aside the box-office success or the awards it may or may not have won you. Which one would you say as an actor you have mastered some element of the craft that you were not getting before.
Saif Ali Khan: I think Hum Tum is an example of mastering certain areas of the craft like there are scenes in the film which are quite long and just have a random conversation between a girl and a guy. To give that energy and to make it hold and at the same time talk in an entertaining way was not easy. I mean there is not even an action sequence or a kind of plot that is being driven by a story, which is captivating the audience for two-and-half hours. So, that I think is an achievement.
And in Kal Ho Na Ho keeping up with Shah Rukh and some of the stuff we did together was a lot of fun. When two actors are really in the moment and are looking into each other's eyes with full belief and trying to convince each other that what is happening is actually real. That is when the smallest of nuances get reacted to and a moment of illusionary reality is created. Something spontaneous and exciting kept happening during the shooting of the film.
Anuradha SenGupta: You are hungry now for this big body of work, isn't it?
Saif Ali Khan: No, I think it will happen automatically. I mean there are certain things, which have put me in a kind of groove where it will happen. Like Othello and Ek Lavya are two films which I have done now already.
Anuradha SenGupta: And there is a Yash Chopra or a Karan Johar film early next year.
Saif Ali Khan: Yes, I hope so, after such serious films. Can't keep doing such films also - they are too heavy.
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Anuradha SenGupta: Otherwise who would pay for the Mercedes?
Saif Ali Khan: Exactly! For Yashraaj films, we shoot like kings. We go to Melbourne, we start work at 10 in the morning. We finish at five. We go for dinner to a nice pub and talk about what we did. We take an apartment in Melbourne for 90 days and from doing yoga on off days to partying, it all happens and it is superbly well organised.
Anuradha SenGupta: It is one end of the spectrum in a sense.
Saif Ali Khan: And then why would you choose to leave all that to get grimy and dirty like going to Wahi near Panchgani with no mobile signals and mosquitoes. And I remember thinking when I was offered it that why is my instinct saying that I should go ahead and do the film. It is because that is what it is about, to balance everything. So, after doing this shoot when I hopefully go to Vienna, I'll be like 'It's nice to back'. But just going to the likes of Vienna would be too easy, too soft and that is the point.
Anuradha SenGupta: Another question from one of our viewers - Jinet from Delhi says "I am a great fan of Saif and I think Hum Tum and Kal Ho Na Ho were superb movies. What is your most unforgettable experience in your career as a star?"
Saif Ali Khan: Assistants who had been a little skeptical earlier came up to me and said we have worked with a lot of people and the kind of energy you had in Salaam Namaste and the way you sort of amble on to the set and look quite disinterested in what’s going on and suddenly you knew all your lines. Now that happened with four movies and it started irritating me after a while when people said, 'I don't know how you did it. You must have surprised yourself.'
Anuradha SenGupta: Is it still happening? It is a bit hard to believe.
Saif Ali Khan: Actually it just stopped recently. But it happened as far as Hum Tum.
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Anuradha SenGupta: You mean to say they didn't see what I saw in Yeh Dillagi?
Saif Ali Khan: (Laughs) I know, its absolutely terrible. I think there are so many influences and I have seen so many things in my life and I think it is time that I need to assimilate them. And form then into a belief system and a confidence system and a system that is Saif.
I have been very lucky, I have been pretty much everywhere and I have met so many people and so many things have happened to me and I have done so many things to people. I think if I was to just respect that and slow down then I could be emotionally quite rich. May be it is also because I have been a second-lead.
Anuradha SenGupta: That worries you, does it?
Saif Ali Khan: Not really, my ex-wife Amrita said that if you don't think like one, you will never be one. That is because part of me never really thought like a main lead. And this is a big thing as we are talking about a saleable personality that people would give money to watch.
Anuradha SenGupta: You have a lot of fans and you are a youth icon. Now, there was news about how you had a minor accident, you picked up the child, took him to the hospital and everything was the way it should have been. On the flip side, you had a Toyota Lexus by bending import rules. Is money so important and especially at the risk of your reputation?
Saif Ali Khan: No, of course not. I did not even realise that it is illegal. I was told that the customs duty was paid for this car. I just wanted a nice jeep to drive in Mumbai. And they said it was possible as long as you don't have it in your name, you can avoid paying an X amount. Imagine it from my point of view, I did not even get beyond telling somebody that I wanted this jeep. And then people spoke to people and then all these middlemen got involved. And by the time I actually spoke to the customs people, I realised that I had made a mistake.
I am not interested in being the ring leader of smugglers. You understand that I just wanted to drive the car. By the time it was explained to me as to what all had happened from illegal money transfer to all sorts of things, it was quite late. So, I would like to plead ignorance to most of those things.
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Anuradha SenGupta: It is not what many people think that the rich and famous can do a lot of things and get away with them. Is it a bit of that?
Saif Ali Khan: No, not in this case. See, I have really been thinking, like my father was upset by all this. That I suppose we did break the law in a way and ignorance is not a good enough excuse. And I think that it should be a lesson to everyone out there and I don't even know where that car is from.
Anuradha SenGupta: So, it bothers you the hit that the reputation has taken.
Saif Ali Khan: Yes, of course it does. I feel terrible, especially when I feel that I don't really deserve it. I thought I can buy a car and as long as it is not on my name everything is fine. And after two years I was told that I could change it to my name. It was all so murky.
However, the customs officials impounded my car and said that you finish the paperwork and take it back. They are really not interested in hassling me at all. So, I did what anybody would do. I went out and bought a Mercedes - nice and legal - and it is a wonderful car.
Anuradha SenGupta: You mentioned your father and we are talking about legalities. Salman Khan has just been sentenced for a year for shooting an animal which is on the verge of extinction and also your father's case in the past. I can understand that you belong to a family where at one point of time going for a shikaar (hunting) was something that everyone did.
Saif Ali Khan: But times have changed and again since the matter is still in court so I can't talk much about it. So, let it be a lesson to everybody else. I mean there are certain things you should not do. The way I see, it is something very hard to say because the case is still in court but the only thing I can say is that I hope the truth comes out. We weren't hunting black bucks in Jodhpur.
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Anuradha SenGupta: It is a question of morality at the end of the day. Anyone of these instances that we talked about and some of these happen to have to do with you.
Saif Ali Khan: You know the root could be respect for the law of the land. And sometimes we don't have it because things don't work the way they should. You don't get the benefit for being the highest taxpayers in the country. So, sometimes you don't believe and have respect that you should for the system.
Anuradha SenGupta: You have become a good boy.
Saif Ali Khan: No, am not saying I have become a good boy. I am just saying that we don't have that respect and we need it. But we need other people to deliver also. We need to know where are money is going when we pay tax. When we did a show to raise money for the Kargil war widows, it felt nice to know that the money actually got where it had to. And not that it was spent half way in the middle by somebody else.
Anuradha SenGupta: Your sense of humour remains intact though, because I remember we were supposed to meet Saif Ali Khan the day he was being questioned by the customs. And I get a message saying since CNN-IBN had done the report so it is equal karma that this interview gets cancelled. So how do you hang on to this sense of humour?
Saif Ali Khan: I think if you can break the fake pretences of being on a level and just sometimes get a little naked sometimes and say 'ok I made a mistake and I'll pay for it'. And the minute you do that you will suddenly start smiling and start wondering how serious is life and how many people have I hurt. So, it is funny in a way. It is also calming and relaxing to just say - ok I'll pay the duty.
Anuradha SenGupta: You have been asked this a several times, what would you have been, if not an actor and I know you could have been a cricketer and if you were one then you would have been a third generation cricketer. So what else could you have been? The way you are going these days - a rock star?
Saif Ali Khan: A wildlife warden.
Anuradha SenGupta: But what playing the guitar in live shows? Is it a hobby that some brands are plugging into for you. And you are getting to live out your hobby on stage.
Saif Ali Khan: It is a big difference playing well on your own and playing in time and sync with other people. Performing with Parikrama went really well. I think I would have gone into advertising. I mean writing copies.
Anuradha SenGupta: Do your children think that you are the coolest?
Saif Ali Khan: Yes, Ibrahim thinks I am quite cool. And Sara is brought up like us, I mean even if she thinks so she would be happy to mention other people also.
Anuradha SenGupta: So no harm in keeping everybody on their toes. Saif Ali Khan, thank you very much.
Saif Ali Khan: Thank you.
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