Why Saif Ali Khan Was Told Not To Play A Cop

‘Shah Rukh Sir gave us a lot of room to make the film we wanted to make.’

Kal Ho Naa Ho was one film that I watched the most in theatres (eight times on my meagre stipend money). I was not doing well in college then, and the movie somehow became my comfort food during that phase.

The music, the dramatic moments, a gorgeous Preity Zinta, the wonderfully quirky characters, Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan’s effortlessly entertaining bonhomie…the film felt like a complete package.

So why am I talking about Kal Ho Naa Ho when I am supposed to be talking about the Kartavya trailer launch? Because I have always felt we needed more films with Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan together in the lead.

Somehow, despite hosting awards together, despite Saif popping up among the gazillion stars in Om Shanti Om‘s Deewangi Deewangi song, a proper big screen reunion never happened.

That lack of reunion feels like a frustrating missed opportunity, and all we have now is to be content with Saif Ali Khan acting in a Shah Rukh Khan production without the producer himself sharing screen space with him.

Come on, peeps, these are the times that demand a KHNH redux!

The Kartavya Trailer Launch

Now that I have vented, let me get back to the Kartavya trailer launch.

The event was held at Netflix’s office in Mumbai’s BKC area and, if you are familiar with the locality, you know it can be quite a pain getting in and out of the place, especially during working hours thanks to the endless traffic congestion.

I was lucky enough to reach on time despite hitting a few minor roadblocks on the way.

The attending stars, we were told, were not as fortunate, having been caught in the same traffic mess. Anyway, as expected from a star-studded affair, the event took more than an hour to begin before we were finally ushered into a cosy screening room.

Thankfully, the wait inside was short, and we were soon introduced to the film, and its stars, Saif Ali Khan, along with Rasika Dugal, Sanjay Mishra, Zakir Hussain and Manish Chaudhari.

Conspicuous by their absence were Kartavya Director Pulkit, who had previously made the gritty Bhakshak for Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd and Netflix, and journalist Saurabh Dwivedi, the former Lallantop founding editor who makes his acting debut here.

Watch: The Kartavya Trailer

The film’s tone is in line with Pulkit’s earlier films Bhakshak and Malik. Like them, Kartavya appears to be a dark social thriller driven by a strong subject.

Saif Ali Khan plays SHO Pawan Malik, a cop in Haryana who is assigned to protect a VIP. Unfortunately, she is killed by unknown assailants, leaving a black mark on his record and earning him taunts from his senior officer, played by Manish Chaudhary. To add to his troubles, his younger brother has eloped with his lover, creating another headache for him.

As Pawan investigates further, he stumbles upon darker secrets and larger scandals involving Saurabh Dwivedi’s godman character, pushing him towards a moral crossroads between what his department expects from him and what his conscience demands.

Rasika Dugal plays Saif’s wife and, while the trailer does not reveal much about her character, one hopes the fabulous actress turns out to be the film’s surprise package.

A bald-headed Sanjay Mishra, meanwhile, leaves a far more noticeable impression as Pawan’s worldly-wise subordinate, always ready with a sardonic comment about his senior’s life.

The most attention-grabbing moment arrives near the end of the trailer, where Manish Chaudhari’s senior cop screams at Pawan, only for the latter to roar back with even greater intensity. That one moment alone suggests this could be one of Saif’s most intense roles yet.

Saif’s Return to Netflix and Cop Roles

Once the trailer screening concluded, the stars were ushered in to loud applause and cheers.

To nobody’s surprise, Saif Ali Khan remained the centre of attention, humbly acknowledging the cheers with folded hands, waving to a few enthusiastic journalists, while looking effortlessly suave in his light tan suit.

During the tête-à-tête with the press, Saif was asked how it felt returning to Netflix after Sacred Games.

For the uninitiated, Sacred Games was Netflix’s first major breakout original, capturing nationwide attention for both its storytelling and controversies.

“Sacred Games was amazing. Netflix is a wonderful production house to work with,” Saif responded. He described the platform as “beautifully organised” with “lovely people to work with”.

Kartavya is Saif’s third project to be released directly on Netflix, the second being the 2025 heist thriller, Jewel Thief.

Saif was also reminded that he played a cop in Sacred Games and now again in Kartavya. He recalled that, before Sacred Games, he had never seriously considered playing a cop because of advice he once received during Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), where he played an actor shadowing a policeman portrayed by Akshay Kumar.

Recalling the incident, Saif said, “My director (Sameer Malkan) told me, ‘Don’t play a cop seriously in your life because you can’t do it. You don’t have the gravitas or the power or the strength. It’ll look like comedy. Never do it. You’re a romantic hero’.”

“So it’s amazing that if you keep working and keep practising and keep learning and growing, maybe you grow into something,’ Saif added. “Sacred Games was a wonderful learning experience with some beautiful directors.”

I would like to add here that Saif did technically play a fake cop in Guddu Dhanoa’s Tu Chor Main Sipahi (1996), another film with Akshay Kumar.

Shah Rukh Khan’s Production Philosophy

Most of the other questions directed at the cast felt suspiciously PR-curated, ranging from what Kartavya meant to them personally to the Chakravyuh reference in the trailer, where Sanjay Mishra’s character compares Pawan’s predicament to Abhimanyu trapped within the deadly formation.

Sanjay Mishra’s response left the room in splits. He began philosophically, explaining how the Bhagavad Gita compares the human body to Arjuna’s chariot, where the body is the chariot, the heart is Arjuna and the brain is Lord Krishna. So, when the heart asks for an extra peg of whisky, the brain reminds that there is work waiting the next day.

Of course, there was one question everybody wanted answered: What were Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan like as producers?

Although the question was posed to the entire team, the actors appeared slightly hesitant in responding.

Co-Producer Ashish Singh stepped in first. “Gauri,” he said, “has been completely involved right from the day the script was locked. We have a system in place wherein both Shah Rukh sir and Gauri ma’am give inputs that are incorporated into the film.”

“Through the process, they are very much involved in knowing what’s happening, where we are in terms of the shoot, the budget and so on. They have the final say on the final product, but they also give a lot of flexibility to the director, and it is up to the director whether to take those suggestions or not.”

He also praised Shah Rukh Khan‘s marketing instincts, adding, “The marketing mind of Shah Rukh sir comes in once the film is ready. So yes, they are both involved, but they never become a hindrance to a project.”

“I’ve had a lovely and long association with Shah Rukh. He’s someone I look up to in many, many ways,” Saif added

Explaining how Shah Rukh convinced him to take up Kartavya, Saif added, “I had a short meeting with him. He said there’s a lovely script and he would like me to hear it and do the film. I went through the process of listening to it and meeting the director, Pulkit.”

Shah Rukh, Saif let us know, had seen Kartavya and was “very happy about it”.

“That was pretty much the limit of my interaction with him. I didn’t meet him on set because he’s one of those producers who believes that a director should be free to operate and make the film he wants to make. Sometimes a certain kind of presence can become overwhelming on sets, and he understands that. He gave us a lot of room to make the film we wanted to make. So that was his involvement.”

Saif Ali Khan The Co-Star

Rasika Dugal, who looked elegant in a black ethnic ensemble, was asked how she would rate Saif as a co-star.

She described him as “a co-actor with a superb sense of humour” and added, “He is so much fun to work with. I really admire how he has sustained a successful career for over three decades while constantly reinventing himself. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him.”

At this point, someone from the media shouted, “He is also very handsome!” which triggered loud cheers across the room.

Saif obliged a few of the media personnel with selfies before the PR team whisked him away for the next round of media interactions. The rest of us selfie-less dorks had to make peace with the scrumptious buffet the team had thoughtfully laid out for us.

Kartavya streams on Netflix from May 15.

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Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff