Saif Ali Khan talks about being called the ‘fourth Khan’, being open to playing third leads

Even though Saif Ali Khan has had an illustrious career, he never managed to reach the near-mythical stature of Bollywood’s trinity, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan. 

In a new interview, Saif opened up about being referred to as the ‘fourth Khan’, and said that he is ‘way more successful’ than he ever thought he’d be.

Talking about how he was open to doing third-lead films in the past, Saif told Indian Express, “Dil Chahta Hai was the third lead. You never know what people will like. I see those songs which Katrina (Kaif) and I did. You have a different energy in your 30s and luckily it worked out. I wanted to do Omkara and things like this. Now the choices are doing something commercial and interesting, along with finding a reality in the performance. Just have the clarity whether you can carry an entire film or not and be brave to choose a path.”

In an interview with Sidharth Kannan, Saif described the top qualities of all three superstars and shared how he is different from them. About Salman, Saif said, “Salman has been a superstar from the first shot he gave and he has just never looked back. Ups and downs or whatever, but his mind is very different. It has taken me a long time to grow up into a person who is capable of shouldering a movie.” Talking about Shah Rukh Khan, he stated, “Very wide-sweeping scale of how he sees the world. I am really like a fish-n-chips guy compared to him. He is like an emperor.” Saif then went on to talk about his Dil Chahta Hai co-star, Amir Khan, and said, “Five years later, I kind of understand what he is talking about in terms of how he is applying his mind. I become, roughly like that, much later.” “I think I’ve made a respectable career out of my life so I am very proud of myself and I know I am different from them. They really should be in the same bracket because they are the triumvirate of cinema,” Saif concluded.

Also read: Saif Ali Khan on pressure of Pataudi legacy: ‘Don’t want people throwing chappals at you’

Saif was recently seen in Diney+ Hotstar’s Bhoot Police which was released on September 10, 2021, and will be seen next in Bunty Aur Babli 2 alongside Rani Mukerji, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Sharvari Wagh. He will also be seen playing the role of Raavan in Prabhas-starrer Adipurush.