I feel weird watching my old movies: Saif

Success has come the hard way for Saif Ali Khan. After being in Bollywood for a long period of time, he was able to give some solo hits in the form of ‘Parineeta’ and ‘Hum Tum’. And once Saifu turned a producer with Love Aaj Kal and then the forthcoming Agent Vinod there has been no looking back for him. Being in the field for a long enough time now, Saif feels all the success that he is now getting is the result of his long run of hard work in the industry. According to him, self belief is the ultimate.
 
You have been in the industry for long, but if now people were to watch your old movies from the 90s wouldn’t it feel strange?

True, at times even I feel weird when I watch them, but not always.

To speak the truth whenever I watch them I feel I have worked very hard to reach this position. In those films I have worked very hard on dancing. With high waist jeans and a different hair cut, I started a new trend in the industry.

Especially the emergence of cable networks and satellite rights helped a lot to spread this trend. Watching them makes me feel that all the success that I am getting today is the result of the hard work of those days. Also Hindi films have become a lot more cool and happening only recently. After which we have reached the international level too.
 
During the 90s, for a long time you were among the flop actor and then that ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ gave you the right opportunity?

That is correct. I had started off in the industry on a very bad note. With ‘Parampara’ and ‘Aashik Awara’ being moderately hit, ‘Yeh Dillagi’ brought in some relief. With gripping music and an amazing love story, it turned out to be my first hit film. Immediately after that came ‘Main Khiladi Tu Anari’ which was another good film. After which started the worst phase of my life with 17 flop films in a row. And then came in ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, which changed the trend of Hindi cinema completely. Farhan Akhtar came up with an amazing urban character which was much different compared to the desi hero version like Amitabh Bachchan.
 
With films like ‘Omkara’ and ‘Being Cyrus’ you tried to change your image from a goofy lover boy to a mature actor?

I believe that initially I didn’t have faith in myself which is wrong when your director has complete faith in you. Hence whether it is ‘Langda Tyagi’ of ‘Omkara’ or ‘Being Cyrus’ or even the character of the 10th standard school teacher that I play in ‘Aarakshan’ I must have complete faith. Similarly I played a Sikh lover boy in ‘Love Aaj Kal’ while I had never imagined I would play a Sikh character.
 
Recently you had faced several health issues, how are you now?

According to my doctor, my lungs are like those of a non-smoker athlete. In order to stay fit and healthy I have quit smoking two years back. Also I have been doing Yoga and following a proper diet because of which I have control over my health. Also I have reduced eating red meat so as to keep my body healthy.
 
With two kids, how is the experience of being a dad?

The birth of Sara and Ibrahim was the ultimate moment of happiness for me. The moment one takes their small child in their lap, the happiness comes out naturally. And the best part is that when they grow up, your values reflect in their behavior. Like Ibrahim doesn’t like capital punishment and also has one girlfriend. I don’t know till how long he will stand firm but I have complete faith in him.
 
The mother to your children Amrita Singh doesn’t stay with you. Do you have to work hard to keep away this pressure from the children?

I have no complaints from my present situation. I make every effort so my children receive all the love and attention from me. I believe being a father one needs to create a strong connection with the kids. I like talking for long and having fun with Sara and Ibrahim. They usually come on the sets of my movies to meet me, like some days back they had come to Bhopal to meet me.
 
Sara is not 16 years old, are you worried about the kind of boyfriends she has?

No, we share lot of talks be and she always tells me about them. I believe spending time with kids and creating a strong bond with them is extremely important.

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