Saif spends 42nd birthday in London

Actor Saif Ali Khan, who recently signed Tigmanshu Dhulia's new film Bullet Raja, turns 42 today.

The actor was spotted with fiancee Kareena Kapoor at the airport last weekend, heading for London where he will be celebrating his birthday.

Saif and Kareena's wedding date has been the subject of much speculation and confusion these last few months, with his family declaring it to be October 16 and then Kareena mysteriously saying nothing had been finalized and that she would leave the date announcement to Saif. Who has not obliged thus far.

Just a few days ago we spied Saif with a brand new hair makeover. The strategically placed cap couldn't hide his newly golden locks when he and fiancée Kareena Kapoor arrived at Mumbai airport. This is Saif's look in his new film Go Goa Gone in which he plays, believe it or not, a zombie-hunter.

Photo Credit: Mid-Day.Com

In June, Saif Ali Khan with Kareena, his mother and sisters attended a memorial lunch in honour of his late father, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, in London. Tiger Pataudi died last year on September 22.

The actor's last film was romantic comedy Cocktail (2012) with Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty. The film was a box office hit.

Coming Up: Saif's life in pics

Saif Ali Khan, was born on August 16, 1970. His grandfather, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the Nawab of Pataudi was a cricketer who played both for India and England. His father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, captained the Indian cricket team. Saif's mother Sharmila Tagore, the veteran actress is the grand-niece of Rabindranath Tagore.

Saif went to school and college in the UK. He then chose to follow in his mother's footsteps rather than his father's. It proved a rocky road to stardom for Saif, with Bollywood success coming late to someone who was first considered to look to effeminate to play typical hero roles.

In October 1991, Saif married actress Amrita Singh, who was much older than him. The union raised many eyebrows in Bollywood.

The couple were married for 13 years, before splitting up in 2004. They have two children - Ibrahim Ali Khan and Sara Ali Khan.

The newly divorced Saif made public his relationship with Italian model and starlet Rosa Catalano, rumoured to have been the reason his marriage broke up. He even admitted that there was a possibility that he and Rosa might get married.

There was no happy ending in store.The couple ended the two-year long affair with Rosa revealing that she had no idea he was a married man when she first met him.

After a rumoured liaison with, among others, Yana Gupta, Saif began dating Kareena Kapoor. This time, it seemed he was the ‘other man' – Kareena reportedly jettisoned boyfriend Shahid Kapoor to be with Saif.

The glamorous couple walked the ramp for Manish Malhotra at the HDIL India Couture Week. Kareena had also walked the ramp for the same designer with Shahid Kapoor earlier.

The industry capitalised on the real-life couple's steaming chemistry in Tashan (2008), which failed miserably at the box office. Nonetheless, their charisma together was again exploited in Kurbaan (2009), which created waves. The movie poster fraturing a bare backed Kareena created a furore and thousands flocked to the theatres to see the much talked about bedroom scene between Kareena and Saif.

The couple became referred to as 'Saifeena.' They were Bollywood's equivalent of 'Brangelina' and did not shy away from wearing their hearts on their sleeve, a refreshing change in the ultra-discreet environs of Bollywood. Saif even went ahead and got a tattoo of Kareena's name on his arm. Comparisons were drawn with David Beckham's tattoo in honour of wife Victoria Beckham, which is also in Devnagari.

Kareena even accompanied Saif Ali Khan as his partner when he was awarded the Padma Shri by President Pratibha Patil in 2010. This honour drew mixed responses from people, with the Jodhpur community expressing outrage considering Saif was involved in a poaching case in the city.

It was at this ceremony that Kareena was seen sporting a ring on her finger. This gave birth to rumours about them being secretly engaged.

The young Saif Ali Khan was a far gawkier figure than the stylish sophisticate he is today. In his early films like Aashiq Awara (1993) and Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1993), where he played second fiddle to Akshay Kumar, Saif was gauche and awkward, there was no trace of the leading man he was to become.

The Hindi adaptation of Audrey Hepburn's Sabrina, Yeh Dillagi (1994) fetched his co-stars Akshay Kumar and Kajol Filmfare nominations, leaving him behind. He played the role of the proverbial flirt who mends his ways for love.

Hum Saath Saath Hain, the 1999 multi-starrer, featured Saif as the youngest brother of Salman Khan and Mohnish Behl. The infamous black buck poaching case happened while they were shooting in Rajasthan.

In 2001, Saif made a great comeback with Dil Chahta Hai. The movie was considered seminal in many ways, and revived Saif's flagging career. There was no looking back now.

In Kal Ho Na Ho (2003), Saif played the role of an urban metrosexual NRI. The old scruffy Saif was replaced with a groomed, immaculate Saif. He stood his own against Shah Rukh Khan, like he had done with Aamir Khan in Dil Chahta Hai.

Ek Hasina Thi (2004), opposite Urmila Matondkar, cast him in a negative role. His ex-wife Amrita described his performance as the best of his time. He joined the brigade of the brawny Bollywood men.

In Hum Tum (2004), Saif played a happy go lucky participant in a wry battle of the sexes, opposite Rani Mukherji. He won the National Award for this role.

In Parineeta (2005), he played the role of rich scion Shekhar opposite debutante Vidya Balan. His performance was critically acclaimed.

In Salaam Namaste (2005), opposite Preity Zinta, he proved that the trendy, charming Saif was here to stay.

And then, just when everyone felt Saif had found his groove as a the urban heartbreaker, he played Langda Tyagi in Omkara (2006). His impressive physical transformation for the role of a rustic strongman was only outdone by his performance as the jealous, bitter, twisted, scheming villain in Vishal Bharadwaj's adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello. The performance was to be indelibly etched into national consciousness, and Saif joined the legion of Bollywood greats.

In Eklavya (2007), he returned to type as the stylish, foreign-educated royal son. His mother was played by Sharmila Tagore, his real life mother. The movie was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars for the year 2007.

As the stud farm-owner in Race (2008), Saif played the uber sexy macho man. With his beefed up body, this glamorous movie earned him a place as the new 'player' in Bollywood.

Tashan released the same year, had his girl-friend Kareena and old friend khiladi Akshay Kumar. The movie bombed at the box office.

Saif turned producer in 2009 with Love Aaj Kal, which co-starred Deepika Padukone. He pulled off a double role as the contemporary young hero in London and the robust sardar from decades ago in small town Punjab.

Saif tried his hand in action with spy thriller Agent Vinod (2012), opposite fiancee Kareena, but the film failed at the box office.