Saif Ali Khan likes 'playing heroes'

There may be lot riding on Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor's slim waistline, but recently, it was her boyfriend Saif Ali Khan who seemed to be obsessed about his weight.

Sliding onto a winged chair for an interview with tabloid!, he kept tugging at his white Dolce & Gabbana jacket only to exclaim: "I feel so fat today! Do you think I look fat today?". More of rhetorical musing than an actual question, he continues uninterrupted. "We just had a divine four-course meal. But man, I feel fat today."

In Dubai to promote his latest terrorism thriller Kurbaan, the award-winning actor was the epitome of the I-Me-Myself avatar. Dripping from head-to-toe in designer dos, it was also endearing to watch him preen like a peacock.

"I am a designer baby today. I think I saved it all for Dubai. The jacket is Dolce & Gabbana, the shirt is Prada, the jeans, Abercrombie & Fitch and the glasses, Giorgio Armani," says Khan. He is equally proud of the film's poster which shows a shirtless wounded Khan embracing a naked Kapoor.

"Who is that hot dude in the poster? Is that me?" was his jovial remark after his arrival with his lady love Kapoor in tow. To many the intense poster may appear a tad corny, but Khan is convinced that the poster was an apt representation of the thriller Kurbaan.

"There is a fine line between corny and mass appeal. The poster is not corny and the line [Some Love Stories Have Blood On Them] says it is not a regular love story and is a violent one. It sums up the relationship and the story well. To me, it's just an extended scene."

In the film, Khan plays a scheming terrorist who marries Kareena Kapoor's character and buys himself a passport to the US. True to his self-involved form, he adds playing dark and deceptive characters was not as attractive as playing an invincible Bollywood hero. To all those unfamiliar with the Bollywood territory, a stereotypical hero in a musical is often an alpha male strapped with an innate skill to bash up villains.

"I like playing heroes. I don't like to play negative roles. In fact, I rejected the negative role in Race the one that Akshaye Khanna eventually played because I love playing strong, honorable characters." In the 2008 blockbuster, Khan played a distinguished and suave businessman while Khanna played his evil, manipulative sibling.

Exception

Though he makes no effort to hide his distaste for dark roles, he admits that his 2006 critically-acclaimed Omkara Bollywood's answer to Othello in which he played an Indianised Iago, was an exception.

"Omkara was different. Langda Tyagi's character was so dark and so strong that it overshadowed my personal take. Even my role in Kurbaan is dark and strong. So yeah, I don't like playing these flawed, lukewarm villains." But did the prospect of sharing screen space with his real-life lover Kapoor act as a catalyst?

"The idea of Kurbaan is not to showcase us as a couple. I would never dream of doing that. It just so happened that an interesting work brought us together. The script is good and it appealed to both of us as actors."

Surprisingly, the 39-year-old actor blanches when asked about dating one of the most desirable Bollywood beauties. The divorced father-of-two began his courtship with Kapoor in 2007. At the time, Kapoor was nursing a fractured heart after her break-up with actor Shahid Kapur while Khan had just shown the door to his Italian model and girlfriend Rosa.

Beyong dating

"It is funny: I know she is one of the most beautiful women I know," he says of Kapoor.

"But there is so much to her. Dating sounds so casual. I am so involved with her and there are many aspects to her that go beyond dating. Her being beautiful is easy on the eyes," says Khan laughing at his own joke. But marrying the 29-year-old star is not on the cards for the ambitious couple — not just yet.

"I am in a respectable relationship with Kareena. It's not something flaky and I feel it will be destructive to do it right now especially to her career. Also, I need to sort out things right now before I go into it with eyes wide open. It's [marriage] just a piece of paper anyway. It will happen in time," he says, glancing at Kareena being interviewed on the other side of the room. Often labelled as "Saifeena" and "Brangelina Of The East", Khan is equally uncaring about the tags attached to their relationship.

"I don't like clubbing names together. After all, you need to have your own identities. That's how it should be we should not morph into one creature. I prefer us being called Mr Khan and Ms Kapoor. It sounds more distinct."

His marriage timeline may be murky, but there are few things he would never be caught dead doing like partying the night away in a nightclub.

"I feel too old to be in a nightclub. When I was 18 and I saw this 40-year-old in a nightclub, I used to wonder: what is that guy doing here in the first place? There is a time and place for everything.

"When I turn 40, ideally I wanted to be rich, settled and rocking you know, the elegant rocking. I should have been all sorted by now but I am not." Though he is halfway there, turning producer has given him the much-needed push. His debut production venture Love Aaj Kal was one of the biggest hits of the year. The top-grossing romantic drama saw a blundering Khan professing undying love to his former girlfriend on the day of her marriage.

"We owe it to our audience to tell the truth. As a producer, I want to make movies that have an element of reality. In Love Aaj Kal, Deepika made the morally harder choice by walking out on her marriage.

"She was the anchor who held the story together. Hollywood has been brave at telling the truth, but we [Bollywood] have always been a few steps behind."

So does his next production Agent Vinod a spy thriller which bears an uncanny resemblance to Hollywood hit Mr & Mrs Smith take a stride in that direction?

"Agent Vinod is an action adventure. It's realistic but much more fun.

"But you know, we have to stop comparing us to the West… The term Bollywood sounds kitsch and fun. It's so limiting."

Kurbaan is political

tabloid! asked debutante director Rensil D'Silva whether there has been an overkill of terrorist dramas. "There is space for everybody. Kurbaan is different from Kabir Khan's New York or Kunal Kohli's Fanaa. Every now and then, filmmakers gravitate towards certain subjects. My film is more of a political comment."

Bollywood on the terrorism track

With the release of Kurbaan, tabloid! wonders if terrorism is the new Bollywood staple for directors. We give you list of terrorist-centric films that have been dished out in the last few years.

Fanaa (2006) Featuring Aamir Khan and Kajol Plot: Khan played Rehaan Qadri, who masquerades as a guide but is a terrorist who masterminds the attacks in Delhi's Rashtrapati Bhavan [President's residence]. Falling in love with the blind Kajol provides a twist in the tale.

Hijack (2008) Featuring Shiney Ahuja and Esha Deol Plot: As the title suggests, the action adventure saw the defamed Ahuja take on six deadly terrorists who hijack a plane to secure the release of a detained extremist in an Indian prison.

New York (2009) Featuring John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh.Plot: Three friends studying in a university in the US find their lives turned upside down post 9/11. While Abraham vents his frustration by turning into a terrorist, Mukesh plays a reluctant FBI undercover agent. Bombing the FBI headquarters is on top of Abraham's agenda.

Saif dishes out on …

Success knocking on his door late in his career: "I treat success and failure with equanimity. I don't take them seriously."On working with Kareena Kapoor:"We are both professionals and it has been good fun. But we don't really talk about it."

On working with Kareena Kapoor: ''We are both professionals and it has been good fun. But we don't really talk about it.''