Saif Ali Khan

Saif Ali Khan’s decision to join the film stunned his parents Saif Ali Khan’s parents had never dreamt that Saif would take a career in films hence when he first appeared in a TV commercial for Gwalior Suiting his parents were taken aback. Actually, after graduation, Saif secured a job in a multinational company in Delhi. Hence he was away from his parents. In Delhi, a friend enticed him to do an advertisement hence Saif did the Gwalior Suiting commercial but his parents were angry. They tried to cajole him to pull out after the Gwalior Suiting advertisement. But from Delhi, Saif landed in Mumbai to make a career in films. Filmmaker Rahul Rawail sacked Saif from the sets as he was not serious After rebelling from his parents and doing a TV commercial, Saif moved to Mumbai and started acting in a film which was being directed by eminent film director Rahul Rawail (who made Love Story, Betaab, Arjun etc.). However, Saif was so haughty and was not at all serious in his acting hence one day, film director, Rahul Rawail got angry and sacked him out of the film. A dejected Saif returned to his house and complained about Rahul Rawail to his mother, Sharmila Tagore, who tried to pacify Rawail but he declined. Later his mother decided to place Saif under the guidance of film director Gulzar but Saif declined to work under Gulzar alleging that he was old old-fashioned and orthodox filmmaker. Finally, Yash Chopra and Umesh Mehra came to his rescue and Saif made his film debut with Yash Chopra’s multi-starrer Parampara (1993) opposite Raveena Tandon. The film had big stars like Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna, Aamir Khan etc. but the film was flopped. Interestingly Saif’s second film Aashiq Awara (1993) directed by Umesh Mehra and made on a shoestring budget turned out a surprise hit and opened the doors of Bollywood for Saif. After Aashiq Aawara, Saif had a great downfall With Aashiq Aawara becoming a hit, Saif was flooded with offers but being less experienced in films, Saif got carried away by stardom. He signed the wrong film and faced a bitter phase in his career. He gave a row of flops like Dil Tera Diwana, Imtihaan etc. He lacked acting skills, his dialogue delivery was poor and he was too fair hence he was discarded as feminine by film buffs. His Jodi with Akshay Kumar gave him a new lease of life When Saif was going through a lean phase, Yash Chopra signed him in a love triangle Yeh Dillagi with Akshay Kumar and Kajol. The movie was a hit, particularly, his song 'Ole Ole' is still a big craze among film buffs. His Jodi with Akshay Kumar became a hit and was followed by Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Tu Chor Main Sipahi etc. His other hit film was Kachche Dhaage opposite Ajay Devgn. With multiple flops, Saif began to take his career seriously and even improved as an actor. In both the films Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Kachche Dhaage he was nominated by Filmfare award as best supporting actor. Aamir Khan’s Dil Chahta Hai proved a turning point in Saif’s career In 2001 Saif got a golden opportunity to work opposite great actors like Aamir Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Akshaye Khanna in the film Dil Chahta Hai. The film was brilliantly directed by Farhan Akhtar. The movie was a major hit and it bought Saif Ali Khan his first Filmfare Award as best comedian. Saif tight-lipped his critics by winning a chain of awards including the National Award After Dil Chahta Hai, Saif’s career took an amazing turn and he began signing quality films. In addition, Saif began focusing on his character. The result was that from 2003 to 2009 Saif won a chain of awards, including a National Award. In 2003, Saif won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor award for his excellent performance in Kal Ho Naa Ho and the next year in 2004 he stunned his hardcore critics by winning a National Award for Best Actor in Yash Chopra’s light-hearted comedy Hum Tum. Interestingly in 2005, yet again Saif was in the news for his effortless performance in the Pradeep Sarkar-directed film, Parineeta. He won a Filmfare nomination as Best Supporting Actor. The year 2006 witnessed Saif in his career’s Best Performance in Omkara and won him Filmfare Best Actor in a Negative role. In 2008 Saif was at his stylish best in Abbas Mastan’s Race. In 2009 once again Saif won a Fa Filmfare nomination for his emotional performance in Imtiyaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal. His good performances include Aarakshan (2011), Race 2 (2013), Rangoon (2017)