Unlike
many
star
kids
who
hit
the
box-office
jackpot
with
their
very
first
film,
saif
ali
khan
was
handed
with
a
different
fate.
Though
he
easily
got
the
big
ticket
to
Bollywood
by
being
Sharmila
Tagore"s
son,
success
did
not
follow
and
soon
he
was
relegated
to
second
lead
in
movies
throughout
the
90"s.
But
with
his
'never
say
die" attitude,
Saif
was
not
to
be
shelved
so
easily,
the
sprightly
lad
bounced
back
as
a
sexy
stud
in
the
new
millennium
with
Farhan
Akhtar"s
Dil
Chahta
Hai.
And
then
after
a
long
span
of
time
he
delivered
a
solo
hit
with
Hum
Tum
and
since
then
he
never
looked
back.
Coming
from
a
rocky
90"s
to
the
super
successful
2000s
he
has
indeed
come
a
long
way.
His
movies
like
Parineeta,
Race,
Omkara
and
Love
Aaj
Kal
were
appreciated
by
audience
and
now
all
his
hard
work
has
been
honoured
by
Padma
Shri
Award.
Saif"s
career
graph
has
been
boosted
by
this
honor,
and
he
rightfully
claims
his
share
to
fame
as
he
says,
“I
am
very
proud
and
honoured
to
have
received
this
honour."
Naturally
overjoyed
with
such
honour
the
ever
modest
actor
thanked
all
the
directors
who
believed
in
him
and
gave
him
a
chance
to
prove
his
mettle,
he
says,
“I
would
like
to
thank
my
family
and
loved
ones
who
have
been
there
for
me
and
the
industry
for
supporting
me.
I
would
particularly
like
to
thank
Imtiaz
Ali,
Aditya
Chopra,
Karan
Johar,
Ramesh
Taurani,
Farhan
Akhtar,
Vidhu
Vinod
Chopra,
Siddharth
Anand,
Kunal
Kohli
and
Vishal
Bhardwaj
for
having
the
faith
in
me
and
making
me
who
I
am
today."
Though
the
failure
of
his
last
film
Kurbaan
may
have
upset
him
but
this
honor
will
give
Saif
and
his
family
to
celebrate
and
get
over
the
Kurbaan
failure.
Story first published: Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 12:40 [IST]