Saif Ali Khan talks to Eshita Bhargava about his recent and forthcoming releases, his keeping away from social media, his journey as an actor and much more. Excerpts:
Playing Vibhooti in Bhoot Police: Bhoot Police is a film about a couple of conmen who don바카라™t agree with each other. During one of their escapades, they get the fright of their lives, and realise there바카라™s more to it than what they thought. It바카라™s a comedy where things are not as they look. It바카라™s a story about belief, and is one of the best scripts I바카라™ve read. My character is a quiet and good guy who turns opportunist and evil at times, a bit of a swine, but also a hero. Exploring a character with so many shades was a good experience.
Memorable moments on set: The first day바카라™s shoot was a mess because inexplicably, I got tongue tied. Then, at Dharamshala, I got sick every day while driving to location. One night, Taimur threw up and got us worried. If it wasn바카라™t for the love of cinema, I바카라™d have stopped.
Tell us about Adipurush, and if it바카라™s not too early, about Vikram Vedha: Adipurush is the most famous antagonist in the history of Indian literature and religion. It feels wonderful to be part of the story that I바카라™ve read as a kid. I바카라™ve never portrayed such a role before. In Vikram Vedha, I play a tough, heroic, idealistic cop who is intelligent and knows his drill. I바카라™m excited to work with Hrithik Roshan.
Bunty Aur Babli 2 and your association with Rani and Yashraj: Working with Rani [Mukherjee] again is nostalgic and sweet. I wanted to play a small-town guy as I바카라™ve never done that, and it reunited me with Yashraj Films, where I started my career.
I바카라™m not on social media because it is distracting. We바카라™re anyway addicted to our phones. Also, I find it very disingenuous to share my life with people. You get trapped in it.
Your journey so far바카라¦ Ever wanted to give up?: I never wanted to give up. There have been tough times, a lot of ups and downs but you have to find the strength to keep going and give your best. Somewhere, that has been rewarding.
It gives me great satisfaction to prove people wrong. I바카라™m still curious and excited to learn new things, including acting.
How do you choose scripts nowadays?: I try to find if there바카라™s drama in a new script I바카라™m reading. If there바카라™s an interesting situation바카라”what the character is doing, the problems he바카라™s facing바카라”I say yes.
How important is the box office?: It바카라™s very important. This is ultimately a business. I like doing both OTT and theatrical releases, which are very different. Ideally, you바카라™d do something specifically for OTT, like Sacred Games. However, the effort is the same.
As Sean Penn said, 바카라śBoth are a pain in the arse.바카라ť You get more time to work up a theme on a web series. Also, you can show certain things on the web, but not in films.
People don바카라™t mention you when they talk about the Khans of Bollywood: Not bothered at all. And why should it? My outlook is different. I don바카라™t think like any of them. I바카라™m happy being me. It바카라™s just a common last name. We바카라™re different people with different priorities, perspectives, ideas about cinema.
(This appeared in the print edition as "Not Quite a Khan")
