He
is
one
man
every
man
aspires
to
be.
Royal,
sophisticated,
charming
and
a
perfect
Bond-like
personality
-
suave
and
smooth.
His
looks
are
licensed
to
kill
and
built
for
battle
in
his
latest
offering,
Kurbaan,
where
the
byline
reads
'Some
love
stories
have
blood
on
them'.
Well,
it's
important
that
he
bleeds
like
the
rest
of
us
too.
Saif
has
bitten
back
at
his
critics
ever
since
the
Dil
Chahta
Hai
days.
He
is
a
perfect
synonym
for
the
line
-
Return
with
the
vengeance.
He
has
an
answer
to
all
the
questions
in
the
world.
What's
good
is
that
his
answers
inspire
to
talk
like
him,
sound
like
him
and
be
like
him.
This
Nawab
has
a
presence
off
and
on
screen
that
one
doesn't
easily
forget.
On
screen,
he
infuses
each
performance
with
authority
(Ek
Hasina
Thi,
Being
Cyrus,
Race).
Off
screen,
he
packs
a
punch
too.
"It's
funny
when
you
say
that
because
on
one
hand
you're
calling
me
a
Nawab
and
then
I
have
to
make
sacrifices
too.
Does
a
Nawab
make
a
sacrifice?",
he
questions,
to
which
you
are
speechless
and
have
no
answer
to
give.
There
are
hardly
any
false
notes
(except
that
he
ain't
that
good
a
dancer)
in
the
repertoire
of
this
actor
who
recently
was
at
the
centre
of
a
media
frenzy
over
his
love
making
scene
with
girl
friend
and
actress
Kareena
Kapoor
in
Kurbaan.
But
this
Khan
is
too
level-headed
to
be
distracted
by
all
that.
Instead,
he
channels
his
considerable
energies
and
intelligence
into
creating
intriguing
characters.
When
he
talks,
he
doesn't
command
respect
but
gives
it
back
to
you.
"I'm
so
sorry
to
disconnect
you
like
that.
Now
that
we
are
back,
I
hope
I
have
answered
your
question
and
I
hope
you
got
what
you
were
looking
for",
he
says.
His
words
and
ideas
tumble,
and
swirl
so
quickly
that
the
room
in
which
he
is
sitting
for
an
interview
practically
starts
humming.
We're
sure
it
did
exactly
that
when
the
London
press
was
interviewing
the
stylised
actor
in
his
hotel
room.
Talking
to
us,
Saif
reveals
his
sacrifices,
how
unpredictable
his
girlfriend
and
actor
Kareena
Kapoor
can
be,
their
poster
frenzy
and
his
new
name:
Antonio
Banderas
of
the
Indian
Film
Industry.
Was
London
a
long
and
a
strenuous
journey
for
you?
Yes
and
No.
The
first
day
was
pretty
hectic
but
we
had
yesterday
to
relax
and
today
has
been
quite
quiet.
We
are
off
to
Dubai
for
our
second
leg
of
Kurbaan
promotions.
What
sacrifices
did
the
Nawab
had
to
come
while
filming
Kurbaan?
It's
funny
when
you
say
that
because
on
one
hand
you're
calling
me
a
Nawab
and
then
I
have
to
make
sacrifices
too.
We
work
really
hard
in
our
profession
and
I
don't
mean
to
tom-tom
about
that.
But
this
was
a
brilliant
film
shoot.
We
were
shooting
in
minus
eighteen
degrees
Celsius
inside
a
tube
train
in
Philadelphia.
It
was
getting
dark
at
two
in
the
afternoon.
It
was
like
shooting
night
shifts
(laughs).
We
were
quite
tortured.
But
as
an
actor,
there
are
many
sacrifices
one
makes
anyway.
Most
importantly,
you
sacrifice
your
time.
You
devote
everything
to
your
profession
and
focus
only
on
that
and
gain
benefits
later.
Films
have
given
me
so
much
of
everything
I
am,
really.
Is
Kurbaan
an
enlightenment
in
itself?
Is
it
an
enlightenment
in
itself,
I
don't
know.
I
think
Kurbaan
is
an
important
movie
because
it
looks
at
terrorism
in
a
slightly
different
way.
There
is
a
voice
of
modest
charm
in
it.
Primarily
it's
a
thriller
with
a
love
story
in
its
core
though.
That's
what
is
exciting
about
Kurbaan.
Haven't
heard
of
a
greater
pathos
than
the
soundtrack
of
Kurbaan.
Music
will
always
remain
our
Indian
Film
Industry's
greatest
strengths.
It's
great
to
know
that
you
are
liking
the
music
of
Kurbaan.
Salim-Sulaiman
have
done
a
fantastic
job
and
have
given
one
of
their
best
albums
to
date.
I
love
it
too.
How
unpredictable
can
Kareena
Kapoor
be
as
an
actor
and
your
co-star
in
the
film?
I
think
she
likes
doing,
clearly
from
her
choices,
very
different
types
of
roles
and
she
is
very
adaptable
to
the
different
worlds
our
directors
create
for
her.
Kareena
is
spontaneous
and
the
most
surprising
thing
is
how
she
manages
to
play
diverse
roles
more
than
diverse
films.
Films
and
posters
in
our
Industry
have
gone
through
a
significant
change
over
the
years,
haven't
they?
Yes,
but
there
are
two
different
things
here.
Firstly,
we
should
all
focus
on
making
good
films
rather
than
thinking
of
international
or
national
interest.
It
should
be
a
good
movie
which
makes
sense.
I
also
hate
the
word
'Bollywood'
you
know.
We
should
start
calling
ourselves
the
Indian
Film
Industry
and
make
films
for
ourselves
than
others
rather
than
fall
under
the
trap
of
being
a
cache
type
of
cinema.
Secondly,
we
produce
films,
right?
I
think
one
of
the
most
interesting
things
about
film
production
is
the
first
poster
you
unveil
of
your
film.
Like
Love
Aaj
Kal
poster
took
us
forever
to
make.
But
with
Kurbaan
I
remember
we
were
doing
this
bold
scene
and
I
told
Rensil
that
this
could
be
our
poster
and
he
agreed.
That
happened
quite
quickly.
Posters
have
to
give
you
the
essence
and
the
spirit
of
the
movie.
Does
Kurbaan
have
a
backdrop
of
September
11?
No.
It
doesn't
have
a
backdrop
of
September
11.
I
think
the
world
has
witnessed
so
many
different
acts
of
terrorism
recently,
be
it
Mumbai
or
London
or
the
United
States
that
the
film
has
a
semi
fictitious
backdrop
based
on
reality
events.
Let's
not
get
into
what
and
where
because
Kurbaan
is
a
fictional
story.
Is
Kurbaan
giving
out
any
kind
of
a
social
message?
Yes,
there
is
an
important
message
which
Kurbaan
gives
out.
But
it's
not
a
preachy
movie.
The
idea
is
to
put
a
message
across
in
such
a
way
that
people
think
they
haven't
been
preached.
The
message
I
think
is
about
love.
It
is
one
of
the
most
wonderful
emotions
in
the
world.
It
really
does
conquer
all.
How
do
you
take
this
compliment?
Saif
Ali
Khan,
the
new
Antonio
Banderas
of
Bollywood?
(Laughs
out
loud)
Again,
I
wish
that
people
stop
comparing
us,
with
all
due
respect,
with
the
West.
I
mean,
Saif
Ali
Khan
is
doing
well.
We
are
still
benchmarking
Indian
actors
by
looking
to
the
West.
First
it
was
Sean
Penn,
then
came
Johnny
Depp
and
you
broke
the
news
about
Antonio
Banderas.
You've
worked
in
Dharma
Productions
in
Kal
Ho
Na
Ho
which
was
a
benchmark
film
five
years
ago.
Now
they
are
releasing
Kurbaan.
Times
have
changed,
haven't
they?
Yes
they
have.
These
are
the
same
people
who
made
Kuch
Kuch
Hota
Hai,
Kabhi
Khushi
Kabhie
Gham
and
Kal
Ho
Na
Ho.
They
were
working
on
melodrama
and
lot
of
emotions.
Suddenly
you
see
them
venture
in
Wake
Up
Sid,
Kurbaan
and
My
Name
is
Khan.
That's
really
wonderful
to
see
that
they
are
ready
to
experiment
with
different
genres
and
knowing
Karan
Johar
for
so
long,
I
am
not
surprised
to
see
the
change.
For
an
audience,
it
may
come
across
as
one.
Anything
you'd
like
to
mention
about
Vivek
Oberoi
and
Rensil
D'
Silva?
I
think
Vivek
has
done
a
tremendous
job.
He
is
a
very
good
actor.
His
contribution
to
Kurbaan
is
immense.
I
really
hope
this
film
does
good
for
him
and
as
far
as
Rensil
is
concerned,
I
am
really
happy
that
he
has
made
a
film
like
this
because
he
comes
from
the
sensibilities
of
an
ad-film
world
and
international
cinema.
I'm
sure
he'll
have
something
special
to
offer
because
he
is
very
rooted
with
the
Indian
cinema.
Rensil
is
very
observant
and
a
very
loving
human
being.
Define
Kurbaan
Kurbaan
is
intense
but
let
me
say
(after
a
pause)
it
is
shocking
too.