Saif Ali Khan Pataudi has spent most of his life in the limelight, but recently, he’s been looking inward. In a candid conversation with Esquire India, Saif reflects on his journey through Bollywood’s peaks and pitfalls, the lessons life has taught him, and how he is learning to balance love, family, and craft.
Far from being defensive, Saif has been deeply introspective about both his personal and professional life. He draws inspiration from American psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, quoting from The People of the Lie: “Love is a verb, it has to be practised,” he tells Esquire India.
As part of his self-reflection, Saif embarked on an unusual project: he rewatched every film he had acted in, one each night on YouTube. According to conservative IMDB records, this includes over 50 films from his first two decades in the industry.
“I did second lead, third lead… there were a couple of films that were decent, that kept one afloat. But then there came a time when, you know, one after another, they were very bad,” he admits to Esquire India.
Balancing family responsibilities with a demanding career has always been a challenge. Saif married Amrita Singh at 21 and became a father at 25.
“Movies were not just passion projects, they were a way to support my growing family,” he tells Esquire India.
He also recalls an early assignment, where a producer paid him a "thousand rupees a week", on the unusual condition that he kissed her cheek ten times every time he collected the money.
Reflecting on his early career, Saif calls the 1990s his “net practice” period, a time to learn on the job. “People would say I was lucky to get so many chances, but it wasn’t that I was always landing the best roles or playing the lead,” he says in Esquire India.
By the early 2000s, Saif began taking his craft seriously. Films like Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega and Dil Chahta Hai marked turning points, followed by his memorable antagonist role in Omkara in 2006.
One moment that stayed with him was a conversation with his mother. When he excitedly mentioned a shoot in France, she asked, “When are you going to start talking like an actor? When are you going to tell me about a role you’re excited about?” Saif tells Esquire India that her words shaped the way he approached acting thereafter.
Saif also highlights the value of healthy competition on set. “I work well when riffing off my co-stars. That’s why working with wives and girlfriends is not a good idea,” he quips in Esquire India.
Saif Ali Khan doesn’t deny his privilege. “I probably did have it easy, but of course I thought it was very hard for me,” he says in Esquire India.
His father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, came from a princely family and once captained the Indian cricket team. His mother, Sharmila Tagore, was a leading actress who worked with Satyajit Ray and traced her lineage to the illustrious Tagore family.
But despite that background, Saif insists his Bollywood journey since his 1993 debut has been his own. The real struggle, he says, was cultural. Trained in a Western academic setting, he had to adjust to Bollywood, an industry and culture that felt unfamiliar.
“We didn’t have the family background that empowered us to be a certain kind of movie star… our training was to be self-conscious, quiet, self-deprecating… not the larger-than-life persona that actors in the nineties were expected to have,” Saif tells Esquire India. “We were taught not to grab attention to ourselves.”
Today, Saif Ali Khan Pataudi stands as an actor who has grown with time, balancing his craft, family, and a certain self-awareness that only comes after years of trial, error, and reflection.
Inputs from agencies
Far from being defensive, Saif has been deeply introspective about both his personal and professional life. He draws inspiration from American psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, quoting from The People of the Lie: “Love is a verb, it has to be practised,” he tells Esquire India.
As part of his self-reflection, Saif embarked on an unusual project: he rewatched every film he had acted in, one each night on YouTube. According to conservative IMDB records, this includes over 50 films from his first two decades in the industry.
“I did second lead, third lead… there were a couple of films that were decent, that kept one afloat. But then there came a time when, you know, one after another, they were very bad,” he admits to Esquire India.
Balancing family responsibilities with a demanding career has always been a challenge. Saif married Amrita Singh at 21 and became a father at 25.
“Movies were not just passion projects, they were a way to support my growing family,” he tells Esquire India.
He also recalls an early assignment, where a producer paid him a "thousand rupees a week", on the unusual condition that he kissed her cheek ten times every time he collected the money.
Reflecting on his early career, Saif calls the 1990s his “net practice” period, a time to learn on the job. “People would say I was lucky to get so many chances, but it wasn’t that I was always landing the best roles or playing the lead,” he says in Esquire India.
By the early 2000s, Saif began taking his craft seriously. Films like Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega and Dil Chahta Hai marked turning points, followed by his memorable antagonist role in Omkara in 2006.
One moment that stayed with him was a conversation with his mother. When he excitedly mentioned a shoot in France, she asked, “When are you going to start talking like an actor? When are you going to tell me about a role you’re excited about?” Saif tells Esquire India that her words shaped the way he approached acting thereafter.
Saif also highlights the value of healthy competition on set. “I work well when riffing off my co-stars. That’s why working with wives and girlfriends is not a good idea,” he quips in Esquire India.
Saif Ali Khan doesn’t deny his privilege. “I probably did have it easy, but of course I thought it was very hard for me,” he says in Esquire India.
His father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, came from a princely family and once captained the Indian cricket team. His mother, Sharmila Tagore, was a leading actress who worked with Satyajit Ray and traced her lineage to the illustrious Tagore family.
But despite that background, Saif insists his Bollywood journey since his 1993 debut has been his own. The real struggle, he says, was cultural. Trained in a Western academic setting, he had to adjust to Bollywood, an industry and culture that felt unfamiliar.
“We didn’t have the family background that empowered us to be a certain kind of movie star… our training was to be self-conscious, quiet, self-deprecating… not the larger-than-life persona that actors in the nineties were expected to have,” Saif tells Esquire India. “We were taught not to grab attention to ourselves.”
Today, Saif Ali Khan Pataudi stands as an actor who has grown with time, balancing his craft, family, and a certain self-awareness that only comes after years of trial, error, and reflection.
Inputs from agencies
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