Mumbai: The Nawab of Bollywood, Saif Ali Khan has turned 49 today. Despite being born into a celebrity family to legendary cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and iconic actor Sharmila Tagore, the road to success was not a smooth one as Saif fought his way to make a name of his own among a plethora of stars who were already gleaming bright with fame.
Born on August 1970, Saif made his Bollywood debut with Yash Raj's Parampara in 1993 which failed to impress the audience.
His first breakthrough came in 1994 with romantic drama Yeh Dillagi starring Akshay Kumar and Kajol.
In the same year, Saif appeared in Main Khiladi Tu Anari once again alongside Akshay making the duo a hit collaboration. Both films went on to become massive hits.
However, Saif failed to make a solo impact despite featuring in supporting roles in successful films like Kachche Dhaage (1999), Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999), Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003).
The year 2004 proved to be a turning point in his career as his first solo lead release Hum Tum won him the National Film Award for Best Actor.
And that was indeed the beginning of his starry journey. With films like Parineeta (2005), Omkara (2006), Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007), Race (2008), Love Aaj Kal (2009), Cocktail (2012) Saif established himself as the leading actor of B-town while proving his versatility.
In 2018, Saif took his acting game a notch higher featuring in Netflix thriller series Sacred Games which became a huge rage among the youth. Moreover, his character of police officer Sartaj Singh was largely liked by the audience.
The second season of the series, however, could not sustain the success of the highly celebrated first season.
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On his last birthday, the teaser of his film Laal Kaptaan was unveiled. While the teaser and trailer got a good response, the Navdeep Singh directorial failed to draw the audience to the cinema halls.
Saif was apparently looking for image reinvention with Laal Kaptaan. He gave a charged performance as Gossain, a wrathful and dangerous assassin but film tanked at the box office.
The actor took a sigh of relief with the success of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior and Jawaani Jaaneman. While in Tanhaji he gave his best performance till date in an antagonist’s role, in Jawaani Jaaneman he returned to his forte, rom-com.
Khan also did a special role in Sushant Singh Rajput's swansong Dil Bechara. The critics, however, felt that the role did not do justice to either the actor's talent or the important motif the sequence tries to highlight.
Meanwhile, Saif has a string of projects lined up next for him including Bunty Aur Babli 2, Bhoot Police and Go Goa Gone sequel.
On the personal front, Saif and his wife Kareena Kapoor Khan, who parents to 3-year-old son Taimur, are about to have a coronial baby. Interestingly, the announcement from the couple came on August 12, which happens to be the birthday of Sara Ali Khan, Saif's actor daughter from his first wedding with actor Amrita Singh.
ETV Bharat wishes the actor loads of happiness, success and great films ahead!
