With a career spanning over more than 30 years, Saif Ali Khan has been a reckoning force in the Bollywood industry. From films like ‘Hum Tum’ to playing more diverse roles like he portrayed in ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’, the actor has incorporated almost every genre into his portfolio and is well known for his acting prowess on the big screen. During one of his recent interviews, the artist got candid about his life as an actor the philosophies that he follows in order to succeed in life and even look back on some of the most iconic films in Indian cinema.
Saif Ali Khan looks back on his career and ‘Omkara ’, ‘Dil Chata Hai’
Celebrating the 20th and 25th anniversary of Vishal Bhardwaj‘s ‘Omkara’ and Farhan Akhtar‘s ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, Saif Ali Khan looked back on his career spanning across more than three decades and how everything has been for him lately. While in conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, the actor shared how much of a life-changing film ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ was for him.With Farhan Akhtar he shared that the film explored a lot of new concepts in filmmaking, which also included voice acting. Experiencing it for the first time, it was a life-changing moment for him. The ‘Hawiwaan’ actor added that, “We were so used to dubbing. He [Akhtar] made me listen to how Nakul Kamte [sound designer] was treating the sound and how it was traveling on those headphones. It was an incredible experience.”Further on, he also revealed another part of the film he found extremely interesting, which was when, during the shoot, there was a pin-drop silence in the studio. “There was so much silence for the first time because of this incredible lockup,” he says. “Some of our movie sets have such a crowded environment that pin-drop silence becomes rare. But it was there in this film.” The actor also shared that 25 years ago, there was naivety in the film industry that he has missed a lot. “There was a new attitude to everything. To filmmaking and to life”, the actor further commented.As for ‘Omkara’, Khan shared, “There was a very creative atmosphere on the sets of Omkara. Vishal [Bhardwaj] was fantastic and to get a chance to speak a new language in a new way and to dress up as somebody so different was really liberating and exciting.” Inspired from Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’, the film starred Saif Ali Khan as the primary antagonist, Ishwar ‘Langda’ Tyagi.The star said that ‘Omkar’ gave him the opportunity to explore new sides of him which was a completely new and daunting experience that he absolutely loved at the time. Recalling his time on set he added, “I got to create things that we never would have in the other lovely fun rom-com type movies we were doing.”Specifically there is a mirror-facing monologue that his character delivers in the film. While talking about the same, he revealed that the director Vishal, at the time, had asked him if he would be able to do the scene without clothing. Recalling the memory, he laughed and added, “I remember Vishal ji asking, ‘Would you mind doing it naked?'” which prompted him to then respond at the time by saying, “‘Listen, if you direct me naked, I’ll do it!’”
Saif Ali Khan on one of the main reasons actors survive in the industry
During his interview, the actor also revealed that one of your audiences is one of the most important aspects of surviving in the industry. He shared that the people that you are making the movies for need to like you in order for you to survive in the film industry. The actor further mentioned, “You only survive if the audience likes you. That’s it. I don’t know about great acting and stuff; there has to be a good vibe that you give them that they don’t mind watching you again, even after a bad movie. And that’s all you really need.” He also shared in another segment of the interview that, “People are more excited or interested to see something that is, you know, quite passionately made and is a little different and is about kind of something there.”While talking about cinema and the kind of projects that he wants to do now, he stated that he sees a time in cinema before Ranveer Singh’s ‘Dhurandhar’, and after it, further adding, “So it’s up to us whether to we catch up or not and wake up or not.”Further, he added that one of the main aspects that he wishes more work is put into is music, further praising ‘Dhurandhar’ for its more inventive choices. He also added, “It seems like an obvious idea to make amazing music rather than creating a new album for each film, to kind of draw on all kinds of things from all over the world, not be too frightened of English also as an alienator.”Saif Ali Khan will next appear in his brand new film, ‘Haiwaan’, which is slated to release on September 11.
