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Salaam, Namaste! he is here to stay

RANA SIDDIQUI

In his fourth film with Preity Zinta and second with Yash Raj Productions, Saif is acquiring a cool guy image.

COOL TIME, COOL GUY: Saif Ali Khan is enjoying his sojourn in the film industry more now.

If you see Saif Ali Khan's film graph in recent years, he comes across as a "cool guy." In `Hum Tum' he plays a boy who doesn't mind spending time with girls without making a commitment.

The same goes for `Kal Ho Na Ho.' In `Salaam Namaste' too, in a way his role is a repeat of this easygoing attitude, with a character who lives in with a radio-jockey played by Preity Zinta. Ask him if he thinks that the film is a window to modern values, and he quips, "You can say so. Our society is changing. Do you think that we behave and are the same people that we were 10 years back? It's no more a conservative society. There is more openness about things. It's good to be modern, and a subject like living-in is not new in the country.

"There are so many college kids living in together to save rent, or people who want to be sure about the relationship before committing themselves to marriage," says Saif.

"It was, shockingly and sadly, the only film I was offered in the entire year that had the kind of energy I wanted to be associated with - the look of the film, the people it's aimed at, the dialogues, the situations. And of course, the production."

Though you will not see a very different Saif in it from his other films.

Still young and urban

"Like my other films, here also the character is young and very urban, but the situation and everything is very different from other films. My character is called Nick. Nick is a cool guy like me, but at the same time there are contradictions between the character and me. He takes things easy, can't get up early in the morning. He's a great chef, and not overly macho. He's a contradiction in many ways. He's laid back and yet hyper about certain things."

This Yash Raj production provides Saif a solo male lead.

"The film is obviously important for me. Who will not want a hit? And that too after `Hum Tum,' which was my first solo hit, and a Yash Raj production. It got me so much appreciation. Besides this, `Salaam Namaste' is a wholesome entertainer and I am sure people would not be disappointed after watching it," he says, exuding confidence. And yes, this newfound confidence is also because of the National Award that he got for `Hum Tum.'

In the age of remixes, he is not against the remaking of old films.

"Oh yeah, it's a good idea to remake films, but at the same time I think the originality of films should not be spoiled. I would love to be part of `DDLJ' (`Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge') and many more movies. Something of Mr. Bachchan. Mr. Bachchan is a legend and being a part of a remake of his film would be an honour for me," he confides.

Now even Saif is among so many actors who have been signing advertisements by the minute.

He quips, "If I don't agree with the product I never endorse it, however big the money is."

New shades coming

In his few next films he is playing some interesting shades. He says, "I have two important films in hand - `Being Cyrus' and `Eklavya.' `Being Cyrus' is the story of a Parsi family and is directed by Homi Adijani. I play a dark character in the film. It's about a really messed up guy, who seems normal. It is an interesting role. Vidhu Vinod Chopra's `Eklavya' is a Rajasthan-based thriller. It stars Amitabh Bachchan. It was called `Yagna' earlier. I play a prince with a lot of problems. But it's a contemporary film."

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