{"id":594572,"date":"2026-09-09T03:24:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T03:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/594572\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T03:24:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T03:24:13","slug":"not-playing-it-safe-saif-ali-khan-on-the-bombay-times-lounge-hindi-movie-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/594572\/","title":{"rendered":"Not playing it safe: Saif Ali Khan on the Bombay Times Lounge | Hindi Movie News"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been three decades of Saif Ali Khan<\/a> \u2014 from the charming young star of the \u201990s to one of Hindi cinema\u2019s most instinctive and versatile actors. This year, the actor has much to celebrate \u2014 Dil Chahta Hai turns 25, Omkara completes 20, and Saif reunites with Akshay Kumar after more than two decades in Priyadarshan\u2019s Haiwaan, which releases on September 11. At 56, there\u2019s plenty to look back on \u2014 and Saif has plenty to say. Our guest on the JBL Live Headphones presents Bombay Times Lounge brings his trademark wit, candour and perspective to a conversation spanning films, fame, family and everything in between. Excerpts from the conversation.Saif, you arrived as a star over three decades ago. At what point in your journey did you feel that you\u2019re becoming the kind of actor that you want to be and that you belong here?I think I\u2019ve always felt very comfortable here and felt that these are my people. I had a very academic kind of exposure when I was young. My parents sent me to a brilliant school, and they had a very academic career in mind for me. But I felt a little bit strangled by the idea of sitting behind the desk for so long, even though now I love it and I love reading, and I\u2019m trying to reconnect. But deep down, I also realised I belong to a world like this and feel at home here. I don\u2019t know exactly when I started enjoying it so much. I used to hear international actors talk about things like craft, technique and form and I had no idea about it. So, I read a few books, and they spoke to me. I understood what they were saying, and I tried to apply some of it. And some of it worked out quite well. This is such a remarkable profession; the learning is endless. Every now and then, you break a little door open and enter a room. And you\u2019re like, wow, this is possible.\"Haiwaan1<\/p>\n

Saif Ali Khan in a still from Haiwaan<\/p>\n

For a long time, you were the quintessential charming guy, the uber cool kind of romantic hero. Did you have to try too hard to break out of that box?I was very young when I started out. I was about 21 and slightly effeminate with long hair. I wasn\u2019t really an alpha male, macho kind of guy. So, it took a while for me to find a place, but the obvious place was a kind of sweet, chocolatey kind of guy. I enjoyed it very much\u2026it\u2019s nice to make people smile and have a happy energy around me. And you shouldn\u2019t take that for granted, because ultimately, people talk about acting and all that, but the audience has to like you. It\u2019s luck and their acceptance. When I see those old films of mine, I feel happy because I believe I was really honest in them. I think I became a bit grumpy later.After over two decades, you are reuniting with Akshay Kumar for Haiwaan. Did the two of you slip back into an old rhythm, or did you discover a new one?Well, it was great working with him again, though the intention of the movie was not to bring us back together. It was a role that Priyan sir (Priyadarshan) was finding hard to cast. He had asked a couple of people. I had confirmed my part, but they needed this dangerous villain. When he narrated it to Akshay, he asked, \u201cCan I do it? I really want to have fun and play a bad guy.\u201d Both Priyan sir and I couldn\u2019t believe it. So, Haiwaan wasn\u2019t designed for Akshay and me. It\u2019s a bonus that we share good chemistry, but the film doesn\u2019t rely on that. In fact, we have very few scenes together.Earlier, when Akshay and you worked together, like in Main Khiladi Tu Anari, there was almost a neat division: he was the action hero, and you were the charming, cool, slightly irreverent one. Now that has flipped, in fact, he\u2019s on the dark side.Yes, I was cute and funny, and I think that worked then. Mahesh Bhatt in those days would say, \u201cTogether you two make a super person.\u201d I think that is how different body types and different energies mix together. So, there\u2019s a reason why Akshay and I delivered successful films together. I am kicked about finally getting a chance to play a hero in a film with him.\"haiwaan2\"<\/p>\n

A still from Haiwaan<\/p>\n

Interestingly, come September 11, it will be like your family film festival \u2013 Haiwaan releases on September 11, the following week, Kareena\u2019s Daayra and Kunal Kemmu\u2019s Vibe hits the theatres.That\u2019s a coincidence and quite interesting. I don\u2019t know how honest I can be. I can give you an anodyne answer and tell you all films should do well, and everyone is so talented. But the actual truth is\u2026everyone\u2019s film should do well, but mine should do slightly better. You know, blood is thicker than water and films are thicker than blood (laughs). All the films are a little different, so let\u2019s hope all of them do well. Kunal is very talented; I loved his trailer. Actually, I only want my wife\u2019s films to run and be super successful. She\u2019s such an amazing actress. A happy wife is the best situation for me, always (laughs). And I believe, in the past two films have run at the same time and done well.Last year\u2019s stabbing incident in your house, where you were severely injured must have left you and your family completely shaken up. Did you all take a while to move on from it?We\u2019ve dealt with it remarkably well. I think the person who got most affected was my wife, who is a very sensitive person. It was insane, and I\u2019m still not 100% over it. Even now, if I see a knife, I react. I start thinking about the incident and then, I feel incredibly lucky to have survived it. I can\u2019t believe how lucky I was, because the knife broke. It was the worst knife in the history of knife attacks (laughs!). We\u2019re laughing now, but if he really had a proper Rambo knife, I\u2019d be dead. I was cut everywhere and it didn\u2019t kill me, which is why I can\u2019t get over how lucky I got. But there\u2019s another side to this, which I understand, and I\u2019m not just saying this because I am on camera. I mean, these things happen because of inequality, right? And because someone is looking for money and looking out for himself. I would happily forgive this person also. I don\u2019t think he knew where he was or what he was doing. And if he had known, then it wouldn\u2019t have happened. It was a very unfortunate incident, where I got very lucky and he got unlucky because I think he\u2019s in a lot of trouble.\"Saif-Ali-Khan-PB\"<\/p>\n

Saif Ali Khan believes that being a true star is about the work on screen, not publicity on social media or through the paparazzi<\/p>\n

Do you see life differently after that incident? You have been talking about how short life is and how you want to be present in every moment\u2026I remember lying in hospital thinking, what I really want to do is have a glass of very good wine with some of my good friends. And that is actually all that matters. Of course, good work matters and these things feel great. But I want to be present and enjoy my life. It would be okay if my life had ended because there was also that feeling. There\u2019s a lot of adrenaline rush at that moment which can, in a way, make you happy. There was a feeling when I was covered in blood\u2026 that it\u2019s been a great life and I have had a blast. I just remember thinking that.\"Saif<\/p>\n

Saif Ali Khan on the Bombay Times Lounge<\/p>\n

Is that really what ran through your mind at that moment?Yes, yes. I thought about how making Hum Tum was a blast. Travelling to America and doing those shows was the best career I could have. It\u2019s all been great. My kids are amazing. I just want to hold someone\u2019s hand and go. I was okay with that. But what I wasn\u2019t okay with, I think, was to be paralysed. So yes, what has changed about my outlook is that I want to be more present.On a lighter note, tell me\u2026at 56 what do you care less about?Well, I would like to say what other people think. But I think I\u2019d say, I would like to care less about competing. I think you\u2019re always a little bit competitive, even though you try not to be or project that you\u2019re not, but you end up being a little of that.The promo drops today. Watch out for the full episode of the Bombay Times Lounge with Saif Ali Khan, coming soon on the Bombay Times YouTube channel.Presenting Partner: JBL Live HeadphonesLocation Partner: Sorena, Bandra (W)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been three decades of Saif Ali Khan \u2014 from the charming young star of the \u201990s to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[293031,293030,293032,156,251756,409,111,139,69,293033,14080,235700],"class_list":["post-594572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-akshay-kumar-reunion","tag-bombay-times-lounge","tag-dil-chahta-hai-anniversary","tag-entertainment","tag-haiwaan-movie-release","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-omkara-anniversary","tag-saif-ali-khan","tag-saif-ali-khan-interview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}