Interview: Saif Ali Khan

By: Simran Mody, India Correspondent

His name may not be regularly mentioned among the top Bollywood actors, nor is he even thrown in the discussion of the greatest Khans in the business. That does not mean Saif Ali Khan is not worthy of being recognized for his many contributions to Indian cinema and culture.

The Bollywood leading man and boyfriend of one of the industry’s leading actresses had the greatest civilian honor possible bestowed upon him last week, and all Khan can say is how undeserving he is of the award.

Indeed, at a press conference on Sunday promoting Chevrolet in Mumbai, Khan said he is not quite sure he is deserving of the Padma Shri – among the highest government awards conferred onto a civilian – though he will do all he can to pay proper homage to the honor.

“I think I am a little young for the honor. I think there are many more people senior than me who are more deserving of this,” Khan told reporters at the Mumbai press conference. “But it’s a government honor. It’s not something that I have asked for, but it’s something I will gratefully accept and hopefully, in a few years, I would live up to it. I will try my best to keep it in my mind that it’s something to live up to.”

One of the youngest actors to ever be honored with a Padma Shri, the 39-year-old Khan has sparked off a tad of a controversy in his receiving the award, mostly because he is not one of the three big Khans, let alone a Bachchan or even Hrithik Roshan.

Further, Khan has never won a Best Actor award for any of his films, with only a National Award for his performance in the romantic comedy Hum Tum.

With not nearly the strong resume or career as either of the Bachchans (Amitabh or Abhishek) or any of the other three Khans (Aamir, Shah Rukh or Salman), Saif Ali said time will eventually be on his side and critics will eventually accept his name on the list of prominent Padma Shri recipients.

“Sometimes these decisions are a little controversial,” Khan humbly said. “I believe, when I won the National Award also, there was a certain amount of controversy, but now, if you look back, I don’t think there is any controversy. I think you will feel I deserve a National Award, maybe not for Hum Tum, (but) maybe for Omkara. So similarly, you will feel I don’t deserve a Padma Shri now, but maybe in a few years that will change also.”

Among those questioning the validity of Khan receiving the Padma Shri are a group of wildlife activists and members of the Bishoi community who oppose any such high honors bestowed upon the actor due to his reported 1998 conviction and one-year jail sentence for shooting black-bucks in a Jodhpur district village.

Even regional politicians took a jab at Khan’s government honor; the Shiv Sena Party executive president Uddhav Thackeray claim the actor was a “vagabond” who is undeserving of a Padma Shri, according to an India Today news report.

Protesters of Khan’s Padma Shri honor are not the actor’s only problems; it was also reported on February 1st that his production house, Illuminati Films, is on the verge of shutting down due to creative differences.

“The recession-hit Illuminati Films’ next production, Agent Vinod (starring Khan and his girlfriend, Kareena Kapoor), has … run into rough weather because (distributor) Eros (Entertainment) has decided to cut down the budget by almost half,” a source familiar with the potential fallout told the media on the condition of anonymity.

Still, the actor defended his name being added to the list of Padma Shri honorees.

“I do agree that there will be a few raised eyebrows because I am relatively younger, and perhaps there are more deserving people out there,” Khan said in a separate interview with a local television outlet. “If you look at the awardees over the last couple of years, all of them have not exactly invented a nuclear bomb.”

Last year, Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Akshay Kumar each received a Padma Shri award; Shah Rukh Khan earned the same honor in 2005, while Aamir Khan received his in 2003. Other notable Bollywood actors to receive the honor include Amitabh Bachchan, Ben Kingsley, Naseerudin Shah, Anupam Kher, Helen, Hema Malini, Om Puri, and Jaya Bachchan, among others.

Also receiving a Padmi Shri this year was acclaimed Bollywood actress Rekha.