Saif Ali Khan, the youngest of the Bollywood-ruling Khans and currently at the peak of his career turns 39 today!
Time does fly, it has been 15 years since his blockbuster 'The Hard Way' remake 'Mai Khiladi Tu Anari' and 'Sabrina' remake 'Yeh Dillagi' hit screens. After a string of some forgettable flicks like Tu Chor Main Sipahi, Udaan, Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan and Hamesha, Saif hit the jackpot when he landed the role of Sameer in the mega popular Dil Chahta Hai. The film, directed by Farhan Akhtar accelerated Saif straight to the Bollywood A-list and the actor has just kept the momentum going ever since!
A barrage of critically acclaimed commercial hits followed, including Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein with Madhavan and Diya Mirza and Nikhil Advani's 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' with Shahrukh Khan. Although his most acclaimed role till date remains the antagonist Karan Rathod in 'Ek Hasina Thi' for which he received nominations for Best Villain at the Star Screen and Zee Cine Awards. A year later Saif turned to comedy again with the benchmark setting Hum Tum, the first of his three collaborations with Rani Mukherji.
Saif continued to star in the creme de la creme of cinema with Parineeta, Being Cyrus and Eklavya. His role as Lagda Tyagi in Vishal Bharadwaj's masterpiece Omkara has become iconic to say the least. His latest flick also starring Deepika Padukone, Love Aaj Kal, which is also his first venture into production has garnered positive buzz throughout. "This is the biggest hit in my 20-year-old career." Saif said on his birthday. Without sounding vainglorious Saif said, "But I’m very grounded because somewhere at the back of my mind I have these niggling thoughts about the law of averages catching up. All that blah on ‘what goes up must come down."
Love Aaj Kal, although received well by most audiences did not quite match up to its humongous expectations as it only did moderately well at the box office. So what went wrong? "There are some people who didn’t like the film. Earlier on it would have bothered me since this is my first production. But I think overall you have to understand that this medium is open to criticism and people must be allowed to express their opinion. Now I can take the barbs on my chin. To make everyone happy is a tough call" Saif said.
Saif is a big fan of Imtiaz Ali's work, and regardless of that fact that his earlier film Jab We Met starred Kareena Kapoor, Saif spares no words in praising the director: "I myself loved 'JWM' when I saw it for the second time. It was a younger, very entertaining film that dealt with two people who ran away from home and found each other. My film is like an older wine. It is different."
Join us in wishing Saif a Happy Birthday!
http://www.india.com/entertainment/movies/happy_39th_birthday_saif_5893
