Saif Ali Khan – Chhote Nawab of Bollywood

Saif Ali Khan is a successful Bollywood actor best known for the movies – Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Tum, Kal Ho Na Ho, Omkara, Hum Saath-Saath Hain, Race 1 and 2, Phantom, Cocktail, Love Aaj Kal, Parineeta, Mein Khiladi Tu Anari, Yeh Dillagi, Salam Namaste etc. He has been a part of critically acclaimed movies such as Omkara, Bazaar and Ek Haseena Thi, where he played negative roles. Nowadays most of his films are flops, yet he gained popularity and success through the web series, Sacred Games in 2018. He received national award for best actor for his first solo hit, Hum Tum. He was honoured with Padma Shri in 2010 for his contributions to Hindi cinema.

Saif Ali Khan belongs to a royal family of Bengal born in the year 1970. He has been crowned as the tenth Nawab of Pataudi following his father’s death. He is the son of famous Indian cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Bollywood actress of yesterdays, Sharmila Tagore. He was formerly married to Bollywood actress Amrita Singh and now married to Kareena Kapoor since 2012. His sister Soha Ali Khan, brother-in-law Kunal Khemu and daughter Sara Ali Khan are Bollywood actors.

Saif Ali Khan decided to follow his mother’s footsteps and marked his film debut with Aashiq Awara in 1992 followed by Parampara. The movie was a box office hit and he received Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. His roles in Hum Tum, Dil Chahta Hai, Omkara and Kal Ho Na Ho are regarded as his career best, and he excelled most as a comic actor than serious and action roles. He received Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for Kal Ho Na Ho and also Best Performance in a Negative Role for Omkara. From a lover boy to angry young man and comic actor, Saif has donned a series of roles in the past 25 years and has also changed his looks at different points of time.

Saif Ali Khan – Interesting facts

1. He married Amrita Singh 12 years senior to him, surprising everyone in the industry and theirs was a love marriage. Saif Ali Khan married Amrita before his Bollywood screen debut and got separated from her soon after his first solo hit – Hum Tum in 2004. The couple had two children. Saif later married top Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor.

2. Through his marriage with Amrita Singh, he is related to Bollywood actors – Begum Para, her husband Nasir Khan and brother-in-law Dilip Kumar. Begum Para was her great-aunt. Actor Ayub Khan, politician Ujjal Singh, contractor & builder Sobha Singh, great writer Khushwant Singh etc became his close relatives through his marriage with Amrita.

3. Well-known socialite of 1970s Rukhsana Sultana and army officer Shivinder Singh Virk were his in-laws from first marriage.

4. Through his marriage with actress Kareena Kapoor, he is related to the illustrious Kapoor family of Bollywood. Actors Randhir Kapoor and Nanda are his in-laws, while actress Karishma Kapoor is his sister-in-law.

5. He met Amrita Singh for the first time in the film sets of Rahul Rawli. Kajol and Saif Ali Khan were planned to be launched to Bollywood through the film – Bekhudi. But Saif quit from the project. Saif was smitten by the charisma of Amrita though she was 12 years older and also a senior artist.

6. Before marriage, he had a playboy image. He was rumoured to have bedded several Bollywood heroines before marriage with Amrita and also after divorce. It was also rumoured that his one night stand with much older Amrita blossomed into marriage against parents’ will.

7. When he received National award for Hum Tum, it was heavily criticised by media and movie buffs. His mother was one of the members of the panels. He is a recipient of six Filmfare Awards, though he is yet to receive one in best actor category.

8. His relationship with co-actress Kareena Kapoor sparked during the film shooting of Tashan. Kareena was then nursing a broken heart following her breakup with Shahid Kapoor. After trying with different relationships after divorce, Saif finally committed to Kareena and got married in 2012. They have been living together for the past few years before they finally tied the knot. Their son Taimur Khan is already a celebrity among fans and media.

9. Though he has worked in a series of movies with Kareena Kapoor, they together have missed a hit film.

10. Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan worked together in a series of films in the 1990s, mostly belonging to action-comedy genres and Mein Khiladi Tu Anari is most popular among all. The movies which they did together helped them to strengthen their respective careers in Bollywood, and now both are huge stars.

11. Saif initially rejected the role of Sameer of Dil Chahta Hai. It was Dimple Kapadia who encouraged him to take the role, which played a magnificent role in making Saif a star of Bollywood. It’s his most popular role till now.

12. His famous role in Kal Ho Na Ho was first declined by Abhishek Bachchan, and Vivek Oberoi was also considered for the role.

13. His mother Sharmila Tagore was carrying him in her womb, when her film Aradhana co-starring Rajesh Khanna was running in heavy packed houses in 1970. The movie was a trendsetter which gave a new direction to Bollywood. She also attended many functions as a part of success celebrations of movie, while Saif was not born yet. Saif was born on 16th August 1970. She also bagged her single Filmfare award for best actress the same year for this film.

14. He shared screen space with his mother in his debut flick, Aashiq Awara, and the film was a box office hit.  

15. His maternal aunt Oindrila played the pivot role of child Mini in Bollywood iconic film, Kabuliwala released in 1957. But she didn’t pursue a career in Bollywood.

Also read: Bollywood actresses who debut opposite Saif Ali Khan.