Saif Ali Khan sits comfortably in one corner of his luxurious trailer parked inside the gates of Mumbai’s iconic Mehboob Studios. He’s dressed in a crisp white kurta, a copy of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina on his lap, as his BlackBerry buzzes. He greets me, puts his phone on silent, dog-ears a page, and settles down to talk.
“I’m limping through this one. I’m on page 500 so hopefully I’ll be done soon,” he says, as I point to the book, which, incidentally, inspired the name of his wife, the actress Kareena Kapoor.
“I’ve just recently made a list of classics I haven’t read. As actors, we have a lot of time on our hands between shots. And the traffic in Bombay sucks. So, rather than looking out of the window wishing there were no other cars on the road, I like reading.”
The list currently has about 100 books.
“There are also autobiographies, like Gandhi’s and Hitler’s. But I want to get on to Wuthering Heights next. It’s amazing how those women came up with all these stories living in the middle of nowhere,” he says, referring to author Emily Bronte and her sisters.
After 23 years in the film business, Khan, 45, is now in a position where he can take stock and reflect on his career. Right now, on the satisfaction scale, he says it’s on “average to low”.
“The last year wasn’t quite successful,” he says. “But I’ve seen highs and lows so I know how it works.”
Khan’s two releases last year flopped at the box office and one of them, Humshakals, has often been referred to as one of the worst films ever made in India.
“I feel great satisfaction when I do a hit film or a good scene,” he says, reflectively. “I don’t know if what I’m doing is path-breaking but then I don’t know if Indian cinema is path-breaking. Once in a while you do a Langda Tiyagi (his character in the acclaimed 2006 film Omkara) and hit the nail on the head, and sometimes you do a lovely love story. But do I feel I am making the most happening movies in my life? No.
“But then again, I know I’ve given my best. I love my wife, my friends and kids and family and I know everything in my life is defined by my working in movies. So I am grateful.”
The key to successful films, he says, is to work with a director who knows what the audience wants. And he believes Kabir Khan, the man behind this weekend’s release, Phantom, does.
Kabir Khan’s previous film, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which released last month, has broken box-office records in India and is a massive hit internationally.
“I really want people to come see this film for what Kabir has to say,” says Khan.
In Phantom, he leads an elite group of assassins who are sent around the world on a covert mission to kill the ringleaders of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The film is based on Mumbai Avengers, a book by Hussain Zaidi, who’s also written the screenplay.
“It’s a very strong hero’s role. I’ve played a lot of grey characters in the past. But this guy is a full-on hero,” he says. “After you make a successful film, the greatest gift you get is the freedom to do any kind of film you want. Kabir wanted to make this film and he could have cast anybody but he wanted me. That was a great compliment. Then when he narrated it to me, I said yes immediately. I had no second thoughts.”
Khan says he’s disappointed about the controversy surrounding the film. Phantom was recently banned in Pakistan after Hafiz Saeed, considered by India as one of the masterminds of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, filed a plea in the Lahore High Court last week claiming that the film “contains filthy propaganda” against him and his outfit, the Jama’at-ud-Da’wah (JuD), the political wing of militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“I get worried when people say it’s an India-Pakistan film. It’s not,” he says. “This is about an army captain who’s been thrown out of the army for being a coward who lives in disgrace and isolation. Then he gets a chance at redemption when he’s picked for a mission. How that mission unfolds is what it’s about.”
The historical background adds weight to the film, he says.
“Today’s audience are quite aware. Even a James Bond film could have a plot set in the Middle East. With groups like [Daesh] cutting people’s heads off on camera, you don’t really need to invent frightening villains anymore.”
His co-star Katrina Kaif agrees.
“It’s a very relevant film because of the backdrop,” she says. “[Phantom] will stir a lot of emotions. But we are not trying to instigate or propagate anything. It is someone’s imagination of what would have happened if we responded to the 26/11 attacks in other ways.”
Kaif, whose character joins the covert mission, returns to action mode following her release last year, the Abu Dhabi-shot Bang Bang! with Hrithik Roshan.
It’s not going to be a pattern, she says.
“Jagga Jasoos was supposed to come before Phantom. Then I would have had two very different genres back-to-back. But it was delayed.”
She has no problem doing physically-demanding roles, she says.
“Physical activity is really fun for me. I’m very comfortable in that zone,” she says. “But the action in Phantom was very easy. It was very situational and true to life… it was more combative, more real,” she says.
It was just the kind of film she needed, says Kaif.
“I didn’t want to get carried away with too many songs and too much glamour. I just wanted to do a really simple, character-driven film and that’s what I got with this film,” she says. “I have tried to balance a lot in my career by doing quirky roles off and on. If I’m doing a film like New York, I would do a film like Tees Maar Khan. If I’m doing Namastey London, I had Welcome. So I have always tried to balance things that are strong for me and those that are fun to do. And I’ve always been fortunate to get great roles.”
There will be no more action films for a while, she says.
“I have this wonderful film coming up directed by Abhishek Kapoor called Fitoor with Aditya Roy Kapur. I was in love with the script. Then I have Jagga Jasoos, which I am super excited about. Anurag Basu is one of my favourite directors in the film industry and he’s got such a beautiful vision. Then I have the Karan Johar co-production with Excel, which is not yet titled.”
Kaif, a former model, made her film debut in 2003 with Boom. She says she happy with what she’s achieved, but wants more.
“If you’d asked me then what I wish to achieve and now we’re sitting here today, then my answer would be, ‘Yes, I am satisfied with my career’. I am very fortunate to be able to say that because how many people go through life not fulfilling their dreams?
“But now, there’s so much more I want to achieve. I guess that’s how we are as human beings. Your passion and your dreams and ambitions never end. They evolve and change and grow.”
For Khan, too, the hunger continues.
“I’ve made money, yes, but that’s not the point,” he says. “I want to concentrate on doing films that are a bit more artistic… good films with good directors. The search is on.”
Don’t miss it!
Phantom releases in the UAE on August 27.
