The hero has changed and so has Saif Ali Khan

Bol­ly­wood mostly loves a heav­ily orches­trated press jun­ket. You know the drill: pub­li­cists hov­er­ing like prison war­dens with digital stop­watches, PR teams mouth­ing “last ques­tion!” at the seven-minute mark, and tal­ent repeat­ing identical, hyper-pol­ished sound­bites they have recited to 20 journ­al­ists before you. Saif Ali Khan does not oper­ate in that eco­sys­tem.

Here’s proof: When India’s National Award-win­ning actor and real­life roy­alty wanted to talk about his latest project, Haiwaan, out in UAE cinemas today, there was no flurry of pub­li­cists set­ting ground rules. He simply sent a per­sonal text mes­sage to my phone, ask­ing to meet up while I happened to be on hol­i­day in Mum­bai.

STEPPING INTO BIG SHOES

In Priy­adar­shan’s upcom­ing thriller Haiwaan, Khan steps into a nar­rat­ive uni­verse ori­gin­ally anchored by Malay­alam cinema giant Mohan­lal in Oppam.

Play­ing a visu­ally impaired prot­ag­on­ist who pro­tects chil­dren through music and mar­tial arts, he is under no illu­sions about the shadow cast by the ori­ginal.

Video: Saif Ali Khan spotted at the airport

Farratta | Haiwaan | Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, Shriya P, Saiyami K | Pritam, Jonita G, Romy, Saaj

Video: Saif Ali Khan Arrived At Mukesh Ambani Residence with family

Saif Ali Khan: I’m in a zone now where I want to be more present in every moment

Saif Ali Khan has a refreshingly grounded take on fame, work and the life that comes with it. From staying present and valuing his work to being open to criticism, he speaks with the perspective of someone who has learnt to focus on what truly matters. He reflects on the privileges of stardom, staying grounded and the value of hearing different perspectives. With Haiwaan now in theatres, the full JBL Live Headphones presents Bombay Times Lounge episode featuring Saif is live. Here are some candid takeaways from our conversation with the actor.

You are playing a visually impaired man in Haiwaan. When an actor plays a character with a disability, there is often the danger of performing the disability rather than playing the person. How did you ensure the character was understated, normal?

Well, it’s a little tricky in that sense. He’s got these special abilities where he can do certain things, and he doesn’t come across as a handicapped person at all because of that. So, it had to be quite subtle, and it wasn’t very easy to find that balance. Also, I grew up watching a lot of Japanese samurai movies, and a lot of these films have blind swordsmen for some reason, who can hear so well that they can fight. So, I had already bought into that. When that happens, it makes it much easier for you to put it across what you need to with conviction.

Cinema, Family, Changing Times & More ft. Saif Ali Khan

Saif Ali Khan’s Haiwaan movie released