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Interview: Saif Ali Khan
Competing with Akshay Kumar, covering up the Kareena tattoo, cold war with Rani Mukerji and all those shaadi rumours—Saif Ali Khan comes clean
How was the experience of running in the Olympic torch relay?
It was a huge honour but sadly it turned out to be more of a controversy. There were too many bad vibes associated with the whole thing and to be honest, I didn’t enjoy it very much. Whenever there is too much negativity, the joy of doing a thing goes away. There was hardly any crowd and nobody to cheer us along. It turned out to be a bit of a bummer. In hindsight, I think maybe I shouldn’t have gone. But I also stand by the basic thought that sports and politics shouldn’t be mixed. I’m totally against the oppression of Tibet and when the Dalai Lama himself has said he has no issues with the Olympics being held in China, why are these things happening? We have problems with Pakistan over Kashmir, but that does not stop us from playing cricket with them. Sports is meant to be enjoyed and not to be politicised.

The year has started on a positive note with Race. What’s the best compliment that you have got for the film?
Lots of people have said that I looked hot in the film and that I underplayed the character, but that’s all background noise. The biggest compliment is the box office figures.

How did your kids, Sara and Ibrahim, like Race?
Sara was pleasantly surprised. She was expecting something tacky and eventually found it to be slick. Ibrahim loved it.

What’s all this talk of you overtaking Shah Rukh Khan in the endorsement race?
Come on, you know this is just a part of all the PR vibe that’s going on in the industry. Someone somewhere must have said that I have 12 endorsements and SRK has 14. Sometimes people talk rubbish. SRK is a great businessman and a huge superstar. I don’t compare myself to him. My comparison is only with myself. Maybe at this point of time, I seem to be a good choice for brand endorsements.

You’re paired with Akshay Kumar after almost 10 years in Tashan, how is that going?
It’s been great. I think both Akshay and I are acting better than we did back then. We’re definitely looking better, or at least I’m looking much better. (Laughs) We also have better haircuts now. Akshay is a very competitive actor and my feelings for him oscillate between really liking him and getting frustrated by his last-minute improvisations on the sets. Sometimes I want to kill him since he really annoys me. But he’s great to work with. In many ways, Akshay has been like a big brother to me. We’ve shared a lot over the years and there is genuine respect between us.

So why did you reject Garam Masala opposite him?
I don’t know why I refused that film. Actually I don’t even remember being offered that film.

It was recently reported that you and Kareena will be tying the knot after Tashan. True?
Totally false. We’re concentrating on our individual careers right now. It’s hard enough to get a weekend together. Whenever I get married it will be to Kareena and everybody will know.

Glossies are terming Kareena and you as the desi Brangelina or Saifeena, which one do you prefer?
I don’t like either. Both sound silly. I don’t understand what the need for all this is. Just call us Saif and Kareena, thank you very much.

Tell me won’t the Kareena tattoo pose continuity problems during film shoots?
See, I’ve to be careful while shooting but it’s easily done. With the help of technology the tattoo can be easily hidden. It takes me just over a minute to cover it.

So what’s happening with your production house, Illuminati Films?
Well, we’re rolling our first project on June 1. It’s directed by Imtiaz Ali and stars Deepika Padukone and me. My banner is going to be associated with really cool movies. And my definition of cool movies includes films like Omkara, Salaam Namaste, Hum Tum, Parineeta, Dil Chahta Hai, Being Cyrus and Ek Hasina Thi.

As a producer, will you hard-sell your film?
I don’t know. I might go all out to promote it because at the end of the day, visibility is very important. Also, when a team aggressively promotes a film, it means that they believe in it.

So when do we see you and Kareena doing a film for your banner?
For that someone has to give us a good script. I’m very keen for the both of us to work together but we haven’t come across a good script.

Why don’t you think of an idea and tell someone to develop it?
(Laughs) In the last 50-odd films that I’ve done till date, I haven’t come up with any idea. But I’d like to try and think of something now that I have a production house. See, the basic problem is that there are very few films that have good roles for women.

And you and Kareena would want equal roles?
Or probably unequal roles. I think Kareena would want to have a better role than me. (Laughs)

Any recent film you wish you had been a part of?
Don. When I saw that film I told myself, “Hmm, I could’ve done that.”

Like Kareena, will you be launching your own fashion label?
God knows. I’ve been thinking that maybe I should design some jeans. Maybe I’ll do it.

Finally, is it true that you and Rani Mukerji have a cold war brewing?
It’s bulls**t. Both of us are moody. Someone might have seen us frowning on the sets and started this rumour. I have the highest regard for Rani. We make a great pair on screen and I enjoy working with her. Yes, we don’t hang out together but that doesn’t mean that we don’t like each other.