Saif and sound

Saif Ali Khan is game for playing unconventional roles.

Indian Bollywood film actor Saif Ali Khan poses during the trailer launch of upcoming Hindi romance comedy film 'Happy Ending' directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. in Mumbai on October 9, 2014. AFP PHOTO

For years, filmmakers have seen him as an actor ideal for romantic capers but Saif Ali Khan is eying roles which are challenging and unconventional. Unlike many heroes who yearn to portray larger-than-life characters, Saif is enthusiastic about getting work in socially relevant films where he can infuse life into characters written keeping in mind small town men. He has been happy to portray an oppressed Dalit character in Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan and a scheming conman in Vishal Bharadwaj’s Omkara .

One meets the seasoned actor inside the green room at Kingdoms of Dream in Gurgaon. To break the ice one starts by complimenting him for his portrayal of an urbane happy-go-lucky character in Dil Chahta Hai, even though the film was released many summers ago.After a long thank you, the actor says, “Well, Dil Chahta Hai was a turning point but I think Yeh Dillagi would better fit that description. In fact, Yeh Dillagi was the turning point in Indian cinema. Having said this, I would like to mention here that Dil Chahta Hai changed the style of portraying hero in our films. My character was a confused chap, a young Bandraiite who people in Mumbai and other cities were able to identify with. Yes it was a happy-go-lucky type of character.”

The audience likes seeing Saif portray characters who are confident, lively and know exactly what they want from life. “That is true but I am looking for roles which have more depth.”

With technological innovation playing a crucial role in making Indian films attractive, Saif is all for new age cinema, which is technologically miles ahead of the days of

Parampara , the 1993 movie he debuted in his career.

“As actor I am not technologically savvy but even when I made a foray into the Hindi film industry our filmmakers were using Methuen camera. Our films are becoming more technologically savvy. It is good to see that the digital revolution has improved the quality of our cinema,” says the actor, who has seen a transformation in the way films are made.

He is generous in his praise of the new age filmmakers. “I like working with filmmakers like Vishal Bharadwaj, Anurag Kashyap. I enjoyed working in

Omkara in which Vishal recreated cinematic magic. These filmmakers are brilliant directors, who are not at all commercial minded but still manage to make films which are believable and outstanding.”

One reminds the actor that the rustic character of Langra Tyagi in Omkara was not written for him. “Yes it was not but the challenge for an actor is to make every character conceived by the filmmaker look realistic. Otherwise what is the point of acting? We are fortunate to get a chance to play diverse difficult characters,” he says.

Saif is all for working with filmmakers who use their intelligence quotient to make films in which main characters come from middle class families and people can easily identify with them. In this genre, Saif implicitly equates his upcoming film Phantom . “I am mighty excited about Phantom ,” he quips, without going into details of the film or his character. Reason enough for his fans to wait in anticipation.