Saif Ali Khan's Acting Journey and Role Evolution
Saif Ali Khan’s new thing, Kartavya , is streaming on Netflix right now. He’s playing a cop, doing that Haryanvi accent. It caught a lot of eyes, you know? People compared it to his Omkara act.
You always see him as this sophisticated, metropolitan guy. But in Omkara , he actually went for something raw. Rough edges. A different kind of mannerism.
He spoke to News18 about it. He said these kinds of films, Omkara or Kartavya , don’t come to him often.
“I had to convince filmmakers that I could be more than just a metrosexual guy a couple of times,” he admitted.
He remembers getting into roles like Parineeta . It wasn’t easy. Vidhu Vinod Chopra had another actor he wanted for Shekhar. It’s a long story.
Mr. Chopra is a really encouraging person, though. He was making Parineeta . They were talking, and Chopra told him he was looking for someone else for Shekhar. Said that actor’s career wasn't working out the way he wanted. Said he had pain, and Saif didn't.
That’s the actor from Sacred Games or Adipurush .
The place he came from, according to Saif, was ‘not fair’. But he’s happy he ended up landing in Pradeep Sarkar’s direction.
“I told Mr. Chopra, when is failure a prerequisite for getting a role?” He joked about it. Chopra thought he was a bit ‘rom com-y’. Saif talked to him, tried to convince him to give him a shot at Shekhar.
There were other roles too. He had to push for them.
“I also had to convince the makers for the role in Ek Hasina Thi . Even in Race , they wanted me to play Akshaye Khanna’s part. It was an amazing role, but I told them I wanted to play the elder brother. Someone a little more responsible.”
He had successes in lighter stuff, romantic comedies. It took a big leap of faith to cast him in more serious stuff.
But Langda Tyagi ? That wasn't one of those.
In his words, it was all Vishal Bhardwaj’s vision. He couldn’t have imagined a director coming to him with something so far removed from the roles that got him noticed.
“I can’t say the same for Omkara . The decision was up to Vishal ji. I would never have asked for that part because I would’ve never gone there. I wouldn’t have thought of doing a role like that on my own.”
He thinks these serious, calmer guys? People don’t usually come to him with them.
Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board
Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.
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