I HAVEN’T BEEN UNDERRATED; I AM RATED CORRECTLY
Saif Ali Khan feels that he has got more love than what he deserves from the industry, and wishes to continue being loved
Saif Ali Khan has come a long way in his career since his debut with Parampara in 1993. The actor continues to prove his range of versatility and push the boundaries by venturing into territories which none of his contemporaries thought of, case in point being the digital platform. In a freewheeling chat, the 49-year-old talks about how he is reinventing his career and plans of working with his daughter, Sara Ali Khan. Excerpts from an interview:
Over the span of almost three decades of your Bollywood career, you shifted from formulaic films to doing different kind of cinema, how was that transition?
I got to work with a lot of actors and directors who aren’t from the commercial mainstream cinema, and that somehow helped my outlook towards my work as well as my performance. I worked hard on it. The transition also had something to do with my mental growth and understanding. It was about not repeating the same thing and trying to find something new every time.
Do you feel that you have remained underrated for too long and that perception has perhaps changed now?
I don’t think that I have been underrated. People have been very kind and I got what I deserved, and often, more than what I deserved. It is just the question of how many people I appeal to. People may think of me as underrated because of the films I do, I suppose they are a bit different. But I don’t feel underrated. In fact, I have been rated quite correctly. I hope I continue to. The start to this year has been good. I want to build on that.
You have always taken risks in your career be it when you did Omkara (2006) or when you ventured into the web space with Sacred Games, something which not many mainstream actors did…
(interrupts) The movie industry has been going through a transformation, interesting things are being made, and it has been just the sign of the times.
You have had two back-to-back successes this year, one as an actor and the other as a producer as well. It’s a double whammy!
It is quite a delight. One was a period film (Tanhaji) and Jawaani Jaaneman was a completely different film with a very urban set up. Also, I produced the film, we budgeted it very sensibly and we are very happy with the economics of the film. As a creative person, it is always nice to find interesting things to do as an actor. But indeed, this is doubly pleasing.
You are working with a lot of young girls, Alaya F in Jawaani Jaaneman and Sharvari in Bunty Aur Babli 2, any plans of sharing screen space with your daughter, Sara, anytime soon?
I would love to but it will have to be a very special script. I think both of us would like to avoid gimmicks. I am sure that given the right director and script, it can be great. I always make a very clear distinction between my family and career. They are both separate. I never think that I should work with my wife (Kareena Kapoor Khan) or my mother (Sharmila Tagore). In the future as well, I would like to maintain that.
Juhi Chakraborty