IMDb exclusive: Saif Ali Khan says “they don’t make movies like Kal Ho Na Ho anymore”
Saif Ali Khan, one of Hindi cinema’s most versatile actors, recently sat down with IMDb for an exclusive segment where he revisited some of his most celebrated performances, decoding the choices behind them and sharing candid anecdotes from the sets of these classics.
Talking about how he came to play Langda Tyagi in Omkara, Khan recalled a remarkable coincidence involving his mother, veteran actor Sharmila Tagore, and director Vishal Bhardwaj. Shortly after his mother encouraged him to explore Shakespearean roles “like Othello”, his phone rang. “It was Vishal Bhardwaj, saying, ‘I’m thinking of doing Shakespeare.’ I was like, ‘What?’ And he’s like, ‘Yes, Othello,'” he recalled. Khan also added a light-hearted detail about the casting conversation, revealing, “Vishal came over, and he started telling me about this, and I said, ‘Should I play Othello?’ And he said, ‘No, no, you’re too handsome to play him.'”
Reflecting on Love Aaj Kal, Khan made a case for the film to be revisited by audiences. “Love Aaj Kal is a slightly underrated film. I think it’s a very good film. It didn’t get very good reviews,” he said. Speaking about director Imtiaz Ali‘s writing, he observed, “He almost creates these slightly emotionally unhinged, not very sorted out people, which is, like so many of us, when we are in love.” Khan also revealed a behind-the-scenes creative discussion around the film’s climax, sharing, “He wanted a different end where we, again, miss each other. When Jai finally comes back to Meera, she’s pregnant, and he’s missed it all. So we pushed Imtiaz for a happier ending. And he said no for the longest time, and then in London, Dinesh and I went and knocked on his door and said, ‘Imtiaz, come on.’ And finally he said, ‘Yeah, okay, maybe you guys have a point.’ And I was like, thank God.”
On Kal Ho Na Ho, Khan reflected on the film’s lasting legacy, saying, “I don’t know if they will make movies like Kal Ho Na Ho anymore. Because now we make more movies set in our own country. But there was this whole NRI wave going on at that time, with Shah Rukh riding it with a surfboard.” He also spoke warmly of his co-star Shah Rukh Khan‘s impact on Indian cinema, stating, “Working with Shah Rukh Khan closely, and that kind of energy, and swapping it, and experiencing that kind of stardom, and that world, and really what he’s done for Indian cinema, and taken us to such respectable heights internationally.”
Discussing Tanhaji: The Unsung Hero, Khan offered an honest take on his role as Udaybhan, saying, “With this film, a bit like Omkara, I was like, okay, I just have to have fun. And I don’t have anything to do, because Ajay is playing Tanhaji. But Tanhaji, like a very respectable hero, is a little bit, not flat, but he’s a little bit quiet also. He’s not a very spiky, dramatic kind of person. So he’s underplayed, and the film’s going on. So to make it fun and to make it work, Udaybhan’s character has to do the heavy lifting.”
Looking back at Parineeta, Khan credited producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra for pushing him toward lead roles. “Mr. Vidhu Vinod Chopra, he used to encourage me and say, ‘You’re a great actor and you should stop playing second leads, okay? And you should focus on, and hold out, and wait, and play the lead in a movie. I’m going to offer you something soon,'” he recalled. “And then sure enough, the offer came in.”
Watch the entire video here: