Saif Ali Khan photographed in Mumbai.
Highlights
- "Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir were born somehow to be actors," said Saif
- "I think it must have been a childhood ambition," he said for the actors
- Saif Ali Khan has worked with the Khan trio of Bollywood in the past
Saif Ali Khan occupied a spot on the list of trends on Tuesday after he opened up about having less stardom than his Kal Ho Naa Ho co-star Shah Rukh Khan, Dil Chahta Hai co-star Aamir Khan and Salman Khan, with whom he has worked in Hum Saath - Saath Hain, in an interview with Film Companion's Anupama Chopra. Saif Ali Khan, who has won the National Film Award for the Best Actor for his performance in the 2004 film Hum Tum, said that being less popular than Shah Rukh Khan, Salman and Aamir Khan somehow worked in his favour, as he went on to experiment with his characters and films.
When asked if having relatively less stardom was a "good thing" for him as an actor, Saif Ali Khan said: "Yes, absolutely. I completely agree with that" and added: "I have to say these guys - Shah Rukh, Salman Khan and Aamir - were kind of born somehow to be actors. I think it must have been a childhood ambition. Certainly, I know it was for two of them. I don't know if it was Salman's ambition anyway but he was certainly built for it and made for the kind of success he saw. I joined movies at a time where you got to aim to either be a superstar or not bother. And there's a point there. It wasn't really about nuance, different kinds of characters...all that has happened now."
In the interview, Saif Ali Khan also stated that, unlike Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan, he needed someone to complete him as an actor in films and for him, it was Akshay Kumar. Saif and Akshay Kumar have co-starred in films like Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Keemat, Aarzoo, Tu Chor Main Sipahi and Yeh Dillagi, all of which fared well at the box office.
"If I was cute and fun in a lot of movies and I did a lot of work with Akshay Kumar, who perhaps lacked at that point, cute and fun, so we made a kind of super-person and found our way in the industry. I completed him and he completed me. I think that's why we are so fond of each other till today. We realise we owe each other that, in a sense," said Saif Ali Khan and added: "Usually, a solo successful superstar like Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir don't need someone to complete them."
Saif Ali Khan ventured into Bollywood with the 1993 film Parampara. He is known for his performances in movies such as starred in films such as Dil Chahta Hai, Ek Hasina Thi, Main Khiladi Tu Anari , Kachche Dhaage, Kya Kehna, Hum Tum and Omkara. His lined-up projects include Adipurush, Bunty Aur Babli 2 and Bhoot Police.