Saif Ali Khan walks in 10 minutes late. He's looking fresh and surprisingly fit. He gives me a typical filmy hug and announces, "I haven't had a bath yet." I tell him that information would've been appreciated a few seconds earlier. Even though he is in his gym clothes, he's not carrying his workout on him.
Must be the blue blood. He settles down on the other end of the couch and dons his serious glasses, "This is the Bengali in me finally coming out. Very Basu Bhattacharya." Point noted and it's time for some serious business. He orders coffee and me conversation. And then, we talk about his love, aaj and kal. Excerpts....
The last time you did a light romantic film (Hum Tum), you won a National Award. What are you expecting with Love Aaj Kal (LAK)?
I am not in the least interested in awards. It is a kind of celebration that comes much later. I am hoping for a decent opening and a successful run. That's it.
That's it?
I am hoping and expecting that people will like the movie and enough of them will watch it so that the people who have invested in us are not disappointed. I think it is a good movie and it has a good story. I think stories are really important parts of our lives, whether it is reading or watching them or listening to them from an old tailor in Bhopal, sitting at the foot of my bed, when I was a baby. My parents would be on the balcony, talking with adults and this old man would tell me tales of shikar and tigers and how it attacked somebody….
A man with stories! Can I steal him?
Yeah, no! He was about 90 then yaar...
Drat! Okay, hoping LAK does well for you as a producer, or as an actor?
Both. I think it's more important that it does well. I am playing a Sikh character, and also a contemporary character called Jai, which people may or may not connect to, because of his thinking. There was a little bit of that in Salaam Namaste, where he didn't want to get married just because she was pregnant, which people did not like as it isn't the most heroic thing to do. Similarly, Jai doesn't know that he loves this girl, and he certainly doesn't believe in marriage and wants to be practical. But the story is how he changes from that into something else.
Sounds like you.
Err, maybe. Maybe, I suppose. But actually, not really. Jai seems quite clear that he doesn't want to commit to anyone. Maybe I am just making him sound like me. But he's not really so.
Most actors and filmmakers take trips to Shirdi, Vaishnodevi or Tirupati before their release. Have you done any of that?
(Sounds amused) No. but I believe Dino (co-producer Dinesh Vijan) went to Siddhi Vinayak with the print. I definitely believe in God. And I believe in luck. And I understand why people would want to cover all the bases. There is a big question mark as to what would work, so people try anything. I mean ultimately, when there is turbulence on the plane, and my gut clenches, I do start saying the Ayatul Kursi. Let's not laugh at people who do these things but I would like to have the strength to say that mandir and prayer aside, there's a whole lot of other stuff that is in the gray area.
Like numerology? Did you check if you title was 'balanced' for success?
No. I don't believe that much in astrology and numerology even though I think it could be fun sometimes. I find some of these numerologically sound titles attractive. Like Himesh Reshammiya's film, what was the name..?
Karzzzz?
(Grins) No, that was a bad marketing idea. Especially if the film is even slightly boring. Arre, it was his only film that ran. It was called Aap Kaa Surror The Real Love Story and it was spelled with two A's and Kambakkht Ishq had two K's and Singh Is Kinng had two N's. So it is kind of hip. It has an edge to it. But when people do it to their names that is not cool.
For a brief while, Kareena was Kariena...
Oh no! Really? I am happy she has changed it back.
So you will never be Saaif, with an extra A?
No chance. But for my films, maybe I would try it. Maybe Love Aaj Kal would have looked better as Love Aaj Kall. Maybe it would be funky.
Deepika is the youngest actress you've worked with and Kareena is the youngest girl you've been involved with. That's new!
Yes, it is new. Definitely.
And?
(Smirks) And it makes you health conscious. Like on hand, I will say, "I think I should be much fitter and healthier." And on the other, I am really happy being 38.
When you are with these 20-plus women, do you feel older, wiser and smarter or there is some connect?
Oh, I connect with them completely. Why it works is because I am quite juvenile and they are quite mature. (Laughs) So it balances out just fine. But seriously, I do feel very happy for the people I have met, the things I have seen, and experienced. I really think I have matured. I have had a really interesting history, even though I say it myself. So if you ask me, being with Kareena or working with someone younger than me, it is a non-issue for me. I really like being me. And I am very confident in that. I am so lucky that I am doing okay in movies also. Because it is another world.
You've never promoted a film like this before. Do you find it cumbersome?
(Sighs) Incredibly exhausting. If I see another camera.... (rolls his eyes).
...or a journalist?
No, I think there is a charm to the written word. We learnt early in our careers to speak carefully because the printed word reads differently because it doesn't like a tone. It can be cold. So you must word yourself intelligently.
Like a text message.
But a personality can be sensed through an sms. I personally don't like those short forms. I can't say 'pls'; I will type 'please' (dramatically). And I can't bear 'da' for 'the'.
Ok, coming back to promotions....
We sat here as a production house and said, 'Let us make people aware of this film.' Promotion is such an important part of the film for the producer. Otherwise as an actor, you do the film and then you call the producer and interfere, 'Where is the hoarding?', 'Where is the poster?'. Now I know that there are 450 million mobile users and 50 million internet users in India and I want to reach everyone. So you get involved in the whole process. It's better than worrying about what another actor is doing. I see the poster of Kites and think it is phenomenal. I feel, "Wow, Hrithik Roshan is fit, and a good-looking guy. Like an angel sometimes." It's not competitive. I am like – let me work harder; let me learn from other people. I put all my energies into producing this movie rather than worrying about what other people are doing.
But you've never really worried about competition.
True. Earlier I wasn't even worried about myself that much as well.
That's the lazy Leo in you.
Possibly. And it's also a bit like my father. At some level I don't want to lose that. When you are successful, then suddenly people start waking up to you. That's the scary part. I like to put my feet up on ottomans, in Jaipur razais and watch TV and just cut off from everything in the afternoon. But when you are super-successful, then suddenly everyone wants a piece of you. And then they get offended when some top notches of Mumbai society or politician wants to meet you… The challenge is to be successful and yet maintain a balance without offending anybody but keeping your equilibrium.
You've not shown the film to your colleagues as well as the media. Why?
I have known you for so long; I can easily call you and say I am having a trial, watch it and tell me what you think. But you are going to sense that my intention is to seduce you somehow into liking it. At the same time, when I have a press show, as a producer, I will invite people and come say a few words and then bugger off. I am not going to hang around till the end and ask people, "Kaise laga, kaise laga." Because I will be too tense anyway. Even if my friend goes to see the film, forget the press or the industry, somewhere his opinion will start mattering. And I don't want it to matter.
Won't your colleagues be upset that you didn't show them the film?
If you don't show the film to anyone, then there is no stress. And it is important to be consistent in life. I have never had a trial. I have never called another actor or filmmaker and said, "I want to see your movie, organise a trial, yaar." Because I think it is more fun to buy my popcorn and go to the theatre and watch the film. The bottom line of the psychology of the whole thing is: If you pay money to buy a ticket, and make a plan to go see it with your family, friends or girlfriend, it is a different psychology than to be invited by me. I am not interested in THAT audiences' opinion. Someone will be too tense to laugh and the actors would be like, "I would've done this scene better." The producers will say, "Arre, how much money have these guys spent?" The heroines will be, "This girl is rubbish; I am better than her." So you know there is no barometer.
How do you react when people feel that you are still not established as a solo hero?
I don't think that's true. Who can say that now? You are digging out a question from 1992.
No, that is the perception.
What crap! That perception went out with Hum Tum, which was a solo hero film. Then Parineeta was a solo hero.
But you still did Race, with Anil and Akshaye.
Yeah, but if Race had been a flop, it would've been only my flop. Let's get that clear. There are certainly performances that have contributed to the film but I had the most to lose.
Yeah, and even though Race did good business, it was never counted among the big hits. Why?
Dude, I don't know about that, but as far as the distributors go, they were very happy. It was a 1200 print opening. They opened that film much wider than any other movie of mine.
Also, you didn't get due credit for its success.
I got the due credit from Ramesh Taurani, who will be happy to pay me for Race 2 and that is the kind of due I am interested in. And the fact is that the audiences have seen the film, and loved it. About the internal politics, I am not really concerned as long as it doesn't affect my job.
Looking back, do you feel it was a wrong decision to do so many two-hero projects?
No. I have also chosen what I thought were the best roles.
But you've even played second fiddle to Madhavan in Rehna Hain Terre Dil Mein.
Yeah but that was not a particularly great time for me. Like any actor, I've always chosen the best from what I was offered that year. Some years have not been very interesting, while some have been great. Your aspirations change according to your success ratio. In the beginning, you are just happy to be working. That you have a job, and you have been accepted. Your standards are pretty low. And pretty soon, after a while, you want to be the best there is. The best there has ever been (laughs); you know there is no end to that kind of ego shit.
You recently said you and Kareena didn't plan to stay engaged forever. Does that mean you're already engaged?
No. I mean I feel like I am engaged. But I don't believe in engagements as such; they are a bit old-fashioned.
Your mom said in a recent interview that you both have the family's blessings.
I am sure mom wants me to settle down. Parents like to tie up everything and they think it's done. But it is not done even if you are married. Today, marriage is another form of engagement. It is a legal commitment that it is quite easy to get out of. It's not like: It's all over and now we can all go to sleep. And anyway it is very important in a girl's career for her to focus on that. And marriage — let's be honest — alters your image, your marketability and people lose interest in you. I'd much rather people kept asking, "When are you getting married?" The minute you are married, you are yesterday's news. And I am not in any rush to get married. Because I am loving this.
Is it tough to manage being together with your tough schedules?
We are balancing our lives beautifully. We are working hard and Kareena is more than a wife, because she loves me. There are so many wives who don't love their husbands because they are pakaoed after 10 years of being together. Bebo gives me all the time in the world. And when I get done with these two days and the film releases, I will give time. We manage. People laugh at us saying, "Oh you are turning up on the set; she is coming here" but that's how we manage.
Oh, you are aware of people laughing?
Yeah, of course, but what to do? Initially when the relationship is starting, you want to make each other secure, and you want to tell the world that we are serious about each other. We are not a fly-by-night kind of a thing. So we make commitments on paper, and we say things but before you know it, it gets blown out of proportion.
What if Bebo says she wants marriage?
For an actor and for a working person, it must come at the right time. You must do it when you want to do it, or when you want to have children. We've waited for a reason. It is not the 1920s when it was like now we can live together or now we can spend time legally. We can do all that now, without that. People must understand her priorities. She is a film child. She has grown up watching films. She has always wanted this and she has finally achieved it. And I absolutely forbid her to even want to. Tomorrow if she says, "Let's get married", I will tell her, "I think you should work for a few years."
She has been flaunting her ring for a long time.
She can flaunt many rings. I will give her lots of them. Even I wear rings.
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