PicShik Blog

Actor Saif Ali Khan may have had to cancel his big birthday bash, but he is happy that his 38th birthday on Saturday coincides with the festival of Raksha Bandhan as his two sisters celebrate the festival in a big way.

“There’s no one in town! All my friends from the industry are not here. In fact I had spoken to Shah Rukh (Khan). He had promised to fly back to Mumbai for my birthday. Very sweet of him.”

But the superstar couldn’t make it and Saif says he’ll miss his parents too.

“My mom and dad are not flying over from Delhi. My birthday is not such a big deal for me. I’d just be happy to spend it with Kareena (Kapoor) and my kids,” said Saif.

But since his birthday falls on Rakhi day, he says he is expecting presents from his sisters Soha and Saba instead.

“Rakha Bandhan is always special for me as my two sisters celebrate it in a big way every year, and this year it is even more special because it also coincides with my birthday,” Saif said.

“On earlier occasions of Raksha Bandhan, I have always presented them with gifts, but this time I am expecting a gift from them,” he added.

Things couldn’t be better for Saif as he completes 38.

“It’s been an eventful and fulfilling year. I found love in Kareena. Professionally it was a quiet year. There was Race, but then there were two films that didn’t do well. I need to focus more on my work. I want to put together some good projects and work hard. Since my personal life is so stable I’ve no excuse to not give my job my best shot.”

This was also the year when Saif turned producer.

“I’m actually a creative producer. My partner Dinesh Vijen takes care of the nitty-gritties. I’m there as an actor. For my first production I let my director Imtiaz Ali do exactly what he wants.”

Saif says he has begun to understand himself much more now.

“I’ve discovered there are many things I like about myself, and a couple of things that I don’t like about myself. I’m 38 now. Do I feel wise? Sometimes I do. At other times I’m still as impulsive and headstrong as I used to be.

“I felt when I grew older I’d outgrow certain bands when it came to music, that I’d stop enjoying rock when I was older. That didn’t happen. I still enjoy some of the things that I did 10 years ago. Is that bad?”

Saif is also heavily into fitness now. “I think if you’re health conscious and you’re physically fit and look after yourself, 38 is a great age to be. Today I’m more aware of myself. I know who I am with and what I’m comfortable with. I’ve quit smoking completely. This the healthiest time of my life.”

There were rumours that the actor had a panic attack while shooting in London last month. But he completely rubbishes them.

“What nonsense! I don’t even know what a panic attack is. Does it mean I thought I had a heart attack? No such thing happened to me.”

Saif has just returned from London and the US after one of the longest shooting stints abroad.

“London has become Bollywood’s favourite second home. Mine too. A lot of us actors love London. I spent a lot of my growing years in London. But I don’t feel too much at home there. Mumbai is where I feel home is,” said Saif, who’s just back in the city after two months of shooting abroad.

“Sadly I’m going off to Dubai to do a show, then I’m going to the US for an event. I also have to shoot in Kolkata, Delhi and Rajasthan to complete Imtiaz Ali’s film. There’s quite a lot of the film that remains so I’m hardly in Mumbai. It’d be nice to spend some time in Mumbai not working…just spending some time with the kids,” Saif said.

As far as films go, he has signed another film opposite Kareena to be produced by Ashthvinayak.

“But I’m quite open to her working with other leading men. I think she’s doing Imtiaz Ali’s next film with another actor, just as I’m doing Imtiaz’s current film with Deepika Padukone. So what? Even if we work separately we still manage to spend quite a lot of time together.”

The new ‘hot’ couple of the tinsel town, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are selling like ‘hot’ cakes in the brand endorsement market. After signing the famous Head & Shoulders shampoo ad, they have bagged the coveted Airtel advertisement.

Earlier, Vidya Balan and Madhavan sizzled in the Airtel ad with their onscreen chemistry and now our ‘Chote Nawab’ and ‘Bebo’ will be seen sharing sweet-nothings onscreen.

According to a source, “Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are the hottest couple when it comes to brand endorsements. They’ve been paid a whopping amount to come together for these two brands. They will shoot for the Head & Shoulders ad soon.”

In the Head & Shoulders ad, Kareena is seen just for a split-second, but any brand that has them both on board will eventually use them together. That’s the reason why brands are going for couples, for eg, Bips-John, Ajay-Kajol.

Rumour has it that Saif has 12 brands, while Kareena has seven in her kitty. Soon, the lady will be seen endorsing leading jewellery and lifestyle brands. Bebo was reportedly paid Rs 5 crores for the Vivel soap ad that marked the foray of the ITC group into soap brands.

Kareena is now touted as the highest paid endorser and commands a price given only to male models. The power couple is now, clearly at the top in brand endorsement market. Seems that flaunting love, tattoos and fights have done the wonder. Bravo, Saifeena!

Saif Ali Khan has been signed on as the male brand ambassador for Head & Shoulders anti dandruff shampoo. The new Head & Shoulders campaign featuring the actor broke on various TV channels on August 1. The TVC, which has been shot in Bangkok, has been conceived by Saatchi & Saatchi.

Vidya Murthy, Brand Manager, Head & Shoulders said, “Saif is a natural fit for Head & Shoulders as he epitomises today’s style and also represents the youth, who are constantly multi-tasking, have varied interests and many passions and, therefore, do not want to worry about dandruff.”

The ad shows that Khan’s uppermost thought is occupied by Kareena Kapoor blowing kisses to him. Quickly realising that he is getting lost in thought, he argues that ‘Kareena’ is not the only thing on his mind. What follows are all of Khan’s other passions and fantasies – driving a sports car, strumming away on his electric guitar, and even batting for the Indian cricket team.

The ad shows that Khan has room to think of all his multiple passions because he doesn’t have dandruff on his mind. The TVC concludes with the actor encouraging viewers to go ahead and think about their passions freely since dandruff would not be on their mind – thanks to Head & Shoulders.

Saif Ali has been left red in the face over a kissing scene involving his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor and Hollywood hunk Sylvester Stallone.

Kareena and Stallone were shooting for Sajid Nadiadwala’s Kambakht Ishq in Los Angeles.

As part of the script, Bebo was required to kiss Stallone on the cheek, much to the discomfort of boyfriend Saif who was present at the shooting.

But when it took Kareena three takes to get the shot right, Saif really lost his cool and raised objections.

Kareena, however, did not like the intervention and asked Saif to stay away.

“If you can’t see me doing a kissing scene, then stop coming to the sets of my shootings,” Kareena was reportedly heard shouting.

Stallone plays himself in the movie, which has Akshay Kumar in the lead role.

Work has often kept Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor away from each other. But for this one time, the lovers are united by work.

After accompanying Saif on the sets of Imtiaz Ali’s film in London for about a week, Kareena had gone to Los Angeles to shoot Kambakht Ishq with Akshay Kumar while Saif continued shooting in London. The lovers were separated again by work. But now, Saif is also headed to the US.

However, this time it is not exclusively to be with Bebo (as he has done umpteen times in the past) but to shoot the second schedule of his first home production with Imtiaz Ali in San Francisco.

While in the US, though Saif and Bebo won’t be in the same city, whenever they miss each other all they have to do is catch a flight and they could be together again within hours.

In fact, the buzz is that Saif deliberately planned a US schedule for his movie because he knew that Bebo would be shooting there around the same time. However, director Imtiaz Ali denies this. He says the US schedule was planned long way back.

After the US schedule, the film’s shooting would be about 90 percent complete. The remaining portions will be shot in North India.

The movie stars Deepika Padukone opposite Saif.

A single moment of separation seems unbearable to lovebirds Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Wherever Saif goes, Kareena follows and vice versa. As much as possible, they keep the shooting dates and location near so that they can fly to one another’s place at anytime. They are madly in love and cannot think of living separately for a long time even in relation to work. We earlier reported that Saiffu dear follows Bebo to her shooting locales and remained with her till she wraped up her shooting. Now that Saif is busy with his home production with Deepika Padukone and Kareena with Kambakqt Ishq, they somehow manage to spend time in each other’s arm.

When Kareena was in London, Saif luckily happened to be there for his home production. Then their next destination was US. They both landed at the spot for Sajid Nadiadwala Kambakht Ishq. Then she flew to Los Angeles and he too shot in San Francisco and as it is an hour’s distance, Saif went to meet Kareena.

When two people are deeply in love, distance does not seem to be a matter of concern for them. He simply flew from London to Bangkok because Kareena was performing at the IIFA awards. Then Saif flew to Frankfurt where she was performing at Shahrukh Khan’s Temptation Reloaded concert. It seems like Saif, Kareena have a flying love story.

Saif Ali Khan is refusing to pay his British suppliers, it has been learnt. According to an Indian newspaper article, Saif and his partner Dinesh Vijan (Illuminati Films) are facing immense production hassles after the British suppliers in London were not given initial expenses for a film that Saif is shooting there. The duo, seem to think that the practices in Britain are same as the ones in India, that you can penny-pinch here and there, but this is not the case; British companies demand advance payments.

Says a source, “Saif and Dinesh need to understand that UK and India are different markets with different work policies, practices and culture. The British crew is not happy with Dinesh’s lack of understanding and penny-wise pound-foolish behaviour. Apparently, some utility suppliers walked out at the last moment leaving Saif and Dinesh in the lurch. They had to scout around for a new supplier as a result of which the dates went a bit haywire.”

Dinesh Vijan denies this, saying, “The utility supplier Film Floor and the rest of the crew are still with us. We can’t shoot overtime because UK labour laws are different. There is a minimum wage and you know that the British system and laws are so strict. Call up artistes like Rishi Kapoor and Deepika and ask them how we are running production. There is no stress and the shooting is going off really well.”
This is Saif’s maiden venture. The star intends to produce further films in due course.

Their much awaited and much hyped film ‘Tashan’ crashed at the box office despite Kareena flaunting her zero size figure in the film. But this has in no way disheartened Saifeena (Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor) from venturing into projects together.

They are already working in Sriram Raghavan’s ‘Agent Vinod’ and untitled film for Rensil D’Silva. The latest addition to this list is the film they have signed for the production house Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd. Incidentally, this film is a part of the three-film deal, which Kareena had signed with Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd.

The spokesperson for Ashtavinayak confirmed the news saying, “Yes, Saif and Kareena have been signed for a film to be made under the Ashtavinayak banner. It is an action film but the director is yet to be finalized. The film will go on floors sometime next year (2009).”

Wedding bells may not be that far away for actors Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor as the two are contemplating marriage sooner than the three-four-year target they had set earlier.

“Oh yes, much sooner. In fact, people may be hearing an announcement from us very soon. If I had my way, I’d marry her today right here in London where she’s joined me,” Saif told IANS over phone.

“Yes, I’m ready to make it legal any time. In any case, aren’t we supposed to have gone through a secret Muslim marriage?” he says sarcastically about certain media reports.

Saif was married to Amrita Singh and after 13 years of marriage and two children, the couple separated in 2004. After he divorced Amrita, he dated Italian model Rosa Catalano, but broke up with her in 2007.

The romance between Saif and Kareena took off on the sets of “Tashan”. And Saif has never sounded so fiercely committed.

“If I’m sounding that way, it’s because that’s how I feel. With due respects to all the other relationships in life, after my marriage to Amrita and my two kids, this is the most important relationship I’ve had.”

Saif can barely contain his anxiety and eagerness to do the right thing.

“Of course, I’m anxious. You must understand this is the most important part of my life… so much so that at times I find even my career taking a backseat to my relationship. I’ve to guard against that. I must quickly learn to separate the professional from the personal.”

Saif admits it would take his children Sarah and Ibrahim a while to get used to the changes in their dad’s life.

“I’m not going to pretend that my children, Kareena and I have become one big family. They’re intelligent kids with a mind of their own. Sarah is in fact 13 and a lady herself. It would be quite a while before they are fully comfortable with the change in my life.

“They haven’t spent that much time with Kareena to know her as well as I do. But the good thing is everyone close to me realises that this relationship is for keeps, that I’ve never been more serious. Now it’s entirely up to me and Kareena to take the relationship to the next level.”

Saif is upset with reports that he has lately been crowding his ladylove with his attentions.

“Of course, I want to be with her as much as I can. My regret is we can’t be together more often. We are uncannily similar people and I’ve only now begun to understand why I need to be with her constantly. She complements me, as I hope I complement her. So of course, I try to be where she is.”

He dislikes people intruding into his personal life and says: “I understand people want to put our relationship under a microscope. They want to know about our relationship. But there’s only so much that they can know or perceive. What Kareena and I feel for each other, only the two of us know.”

Despite rumour mills suggesting that Bebo is feeling claustrophobic and smothered by Saifs’ obsession with her, their relationship seems to be getting stronger by the day. Last week, while Kareena was visiting Saif on the sets of his first production unit in London, Kareena bonded big time with Saif’s parents there.

Says a member of Saif’s production unit, “Kareena looked after Saif’s parents like her own. It was quite evident that her move was not a deliberate attempt to win over Saif’s parents, or impress Saif. When she feels affectionate towards people, she gives unconditionally.” Kareena is unarguably Saif’s first lady-love whom his parents have taken to so wholeheartedly.

Our source from London adds, “Kareena has always been extremely affectionate and warm. So it did not come as a surprise that she bonded with Saif’s parents well and they in turn reciprocated her warmth a gesture that they never showed with any of Saif’s earlier companions.”

When we contacted Saif who is in London, he said, “It’s true that my parents met Kareena in London and they got along like a house on fire. My parents adore her irrespective of her achievements as an actress.”

What Saif leaves unsaid is that his parents had disapproved of his earlier relationships.

“But they adore Kareena,” he says a tad wistfully from London. “My dad thinks she’s lovely. That makes two of us,” he adds.

With sanctions from Saif’s parents, all that the couple needs is an approval from Kareena’s parents, a process that he has already initiated.