Saif Ali Khan may have delivered several iconic performances, but some of his fascinating roles still don’t get the appreciation they truly deserve.
Key Points
- Whether he is fronting a film as the leading man in Hum Tum and Love Aaj Kal, playing scene-stealing supporting parts in Dil Chahta Hai and Kal Ho Naa Ho, or turning deliciously sinister in films like Omkara and Tanhaji, Saif has consistently knocked it out of the park.
- The manipulative villain in Ek Hasina Thi to the morally broken politician in Tandav highlights Saif’s remarkable range as a performer.
- Even when his box office stardom cooled off in recent years, the actor did not retreat into safe territory. Instead, he embraced riskier, more layered characters, roles that may have been difficult to attempt during the peak of his commercial superstardom.
With Kartavya, it almost feels like Saif Ali Khan’s OTT journey has come full circle.
The National Award-winning actor plays a beleaguered cop in his new Netflix film. He first stepped into Netflix territory in 2018 playing a police officer in Sacred Games. And just like in that landmark OTT series, Saif has received good reviews for his performance in Kartavya, even though the film itself received mixed reviews.
Of course, it is hardly surprising that the actor didn’t disappoint in his new film; he has been consistently not doing that at least since the advent of the 21st century (the ’90s were a different story, though).
Whether he is fronting a film as the leading man in Hum Tum and Love Aaj Kal, playing scene-stealing supporting parts in Dil Chahta Hai and Kal Ho Naa Ho, or turning deliciously sinister in films like Omkara and Tanhaji, Saif has consistently knocked it out of the park.
Even when his box office stardom cooled off in recent years, the actor did not retreat into safe territory. Instead, he embraced riskier, more layered characters, roles that may have been difficult to attempt during the peak of his commercial superstardom. Not that experimentation ever really stopped him before that either.
While the aforementioned films remain among his most celebrated works, Sreeju Sudhakaran looks at those 10 Saif Ali Khan performances that were terrific but somehow remain outside general conversations about the actor’s finest roles.
Darna Mana Hai (2003)
Darna Mana Hai arrived at a point when Saif was actively reinventing himself after Dil Chahta Hai breathed fresh life into his career.
In one of the anthology’s stronger segments, inspired by Stephen King’s short story Quitters Inc (that later also inspired Anurag Kashyap’s No Smoking), Saif plays a photographer who checks into an eerie ‘no smoking’ inn for the night while on a travel trip.
While Boman Irani (in a breakout performance) steals attention as the deranged hotel manager, Saif is restrainedly effective as the arrogant urban wayfarer whose addiction to cigarettes traps him in a horrifying nightmare.
Ek Hasina Thi (2004)
Before Omkara happened, Ek Hasina Thi was the film that truly proved Saif could excel as a villain.
Inspired partly by the 1993 film Gumrah, the dark thriller uses Saif’s effortless coolness to craft a deeply manipulative and self-serving conman who frames an innocent woman and sends her to prison.
While the film ultimately belongs to Urmila Matondkar’s revenge-fuelled transformation, Saif is chillingly good as the antagonist. The final scene involving his character still gives us the creeps.
Ek Hasina Thi also marked the brilliant Sriram Raghavan’s directorial debut, making the film even more special in retrospect.
Being Cyrus (2006)
Interestingly, the same year Saif delivered the iconic Langda Tyagi in Omkara, he also gave another superb negative performance in Homi Adajania’s black comedy Being Cyrus.
Unlike Langda Tyagi’s openly conniving nature, Cyrus manipulates people with deceptive subtlety that he is a mystery to the viewer as much he is to the other characters.
So when Cyrus commits acts as horrifying as murder, the shock lands harder. There is an eerie unpredictability to the character, whose meek demeanour constantly masks something more sinister beneath the surface.
Saif keeps you guessing till the very end about Cyrus’ true intentions while never letting that mask fall off.
Aarakshan (2011)
Prakash Jha’s social drama tackled the thorny subject of caste discrimination and reservations in education.
While the royal-blooded Saif’s casting as a Dalit lecturer raised eyebrows, especially given the film’s themes, there is no denying how solid he was in the role.
The scene where his character furiously confronts Prateik Babbar’s upper caste student about caste inequalities continues to circulate widely on social media, and much of that scene’s impact comes from the conviction Saif brings to it.
Happy Ending (2014)
Raj and DK’s under-rated slice-of-life romcom features Saif in a delightful double role that feels faintly inspired by Nicolas Cage’s turn in Adaptation.
He plays a commitment-phobic novelist trying to write a screenplay for a superstar, as well as the physical manifestation of his own inner voice.
While the primary role allows Saif to tap into his natural charisma, he is equally entertaining as the lazy, hippie and eccentric conscience constantly hovering around the protagonist.
Kaalakaandi (2018)
In Akshat Verma’s black comedy, Saif plays a man who discovers he has stomach cancer and may not have long to live.
Faced with his mortality, he decides to embrace life recklessly and without inhibition.
Saif astutely captures the manic absurdity of a man spiraling through a wild existential crisis, while still allowing flashes of sadness and vulnerability to seep through the chaos.
Baazaar (2018)
An under-rated Saif grey performance that is trapped in a forgettable movie.
Drawing inspiration from Wall Street‘s Gordon Gekko, the actor plays a suave business tycoon and ruthless stock market manipulator with a silver tongue. Beneath the polished charm lies a selfish and deeply opportunistic man willing to crush anyone standing between him and greater wealth or power.
Saif is excellent here, even if the film surrounding him never fully rises to the level of his performance.
Jawaani Jaaneman (2020)
In Jawaani Jaaneman, Saif plays a middle-aged bachelor, a commitment-phobe Lothario who suddenly discovers he has an adult daughter.
The film works as a breezy slice-of-life comedy, with Saif excelling as the irresponsible man-child terrified of adulthood catching up with him in the form of his daughter.
While he is thoroughly enjoyable in the lighter stretches, it is in the emotional portions of the third act where Saif quietly elevates the material with a nuanced performance.
Bhoot Police (2021)
Bhoot Police may not be a particularly good film, but it did have an amusing premise involving two fake exorcist brothers who unexpectedly encounter a real supernatural threat. And if the film manages to entertain at all, a huge reason is Saif’s delightfully goofy performance.
His character is sly, flirtatious, and armed with some genuinely funny one-liners, all of which Saif delivers with effortless comic timing and energy.
Tandav (2021)
Tandav, unfortunately, became more famous for its controversies than for the show itself, which received mixed reactions upon release.
Yet, beneath the outrage lay several compelling performances, especially Saif’s turn as a ruthless dynastic politician consumed by an insatiable hunger for power.
Inspired by shades of real-life political figures, his character is sharp, conniving and chameleonic, never dropping his guard even when cornered by setbacks. Saif is in tremendous form here, particularly in his crackling scenes with the equally terrific Dimple Kapadia.
Which is why it feels unfortunate that the controversies surrounding the series ensured we will never find out where this Machiavellian politician’s story was headed next.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
