New Delhi: The recurring best man, the faithful understudy, the loveable clod, even the cold blooded schemer - when actor Saif Ali Khan decides to hang his boots, he ought to receive a lifetime achievement award for Best Supporting Actor.
Few can match up to his deadpan comic timing, an earnestness he brings to every role, however insignificant, and an innate sense of style he inherited from a long lineage of erstwhile royals. But Saif's slick spy thriller Agent Vinod may be his last chance to get a solo hit under his belt to compete not only with rivals Salman and Aamir Khan, who have two major films lined up this year and early next year, but also with notable second-generation stars waiting in the wings.
Goodbye 'Ole Ole', Hello 'Pungi'
Saif has never looked better. He's fitter and leaner and has gained much needed confidence in his acting. From a gawky 24-year-old with an impossibly long nose and even longer wavy hair in Yeh Dillagi, his first serious box office success, to the metrosexual Sameer of Dil Chahta Hai, much of the credit for Saif's resurrection in Bollywood went to Farhan Akhtar's wife Adhuna for styling the cast in the cult classic.
But even after a decade of DCH, a film that redefined coming-of-age cinema and turned around Saif's career, the Nawab of Pataudi has not stood out in a singularly brilliant solo role or delivered massive hits such as 3 Idiots, RA.One or Bodyguard. There is still an underlying wariness in casting him as the bankable main lead in big ticket films aiming to capture a market that loves the Khans.
Through a largely forgettable 90s during which he marked his presence with a series of lacklustre films, Saif's true calling - comedy - was superbly exploited in Dil Chahta Hai. He has experimented with the dark psychological thriller Being Cyrus, the rustic Omkara and political drama Aarakshan that stirred up the reservation controversy. His performances, seen separately from the success or failure of the films overall, show that his acting has undergone a radical shift from terrible (Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega) to ordinary (Kya Kehna) to nuanced (Aarakshan, Love Aaj Kal).
It's not that Saif hasn't had solo hits. Films such as Hum Tum and Salaam Namaste were box office successes. Written on the lines of When Harry Met Sally, Saif was completely believable as the incorrigible flirt Karan Kapoor in Hum Tum. Salaam Namaste dealt with the prickly subject of having a child outside wedlock. His role was that of a man with serious commitment issues. While he tried to bring something new to the table with both Hum Tum and Salaam Namaste, you have to remember that the films had two strong actresses and the stories were largely women-centric. Ek Haseena Thi, another thriller from Sriram Raghavan, had him playing the negative role of businessman Karan Singh Rathod. Ek Haseena Thi and Being Cyrus are films that Saif can be proud of in his 20 years in the industry.
Branded as the star exemplary as supporting cast, but one who can rarely step out of the shadow of the three Khan's whom he has had to quietly complete with all his life, Agent Vinod is Saif's desperate break away attempt from romantic comedies and family dramas. Made on a budget of Rs 60 crore, the canvas of Agent Vinod is big enough to let the actor go guns blazing at traitors, spies and double agents. Shot in Russia, Switzerland, Morocco, Latvia, Pakistan and India, Vinod has the look and feel of an international spy thriller despite an indigenous name.
Khan will turn 42 this year and his main competitors are stars who are either of his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor's age or younger. Kareena is 10 years younger than Saif and they are to marry soon. He has time and again courted controversies and was briefly arrested recently for assaulting a businessman at a posh Mumbai hotel.
Despite a legal notice for violation of copyright for the 'Pyar Ki Pungi' track, the songs of Agent Vinod are already chartbusters. The trailer is a sleek mash-up of the film's best moments, especially those in which Saif looks his best and regales with one-liners that are tribute to various stalwarts from the film industry. This may just be the elusive solo hit that the Nawab of Pataudi was looking for.
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