Saif Ali Khan is an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood films.
On September 22, 2011 Khan's father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi passed away, which led Saif to formally assume the title of 10th Nawab of Pataudi.
Background
He is the son of the cricket player and last titular Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan, and actress Sharmila Tagore, a great-grandniece of poet Rabindranath Tagore. His paternal grandfather, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, was the Nawab of Pataudi as well as an accomplished cricketer who played for England and then for India as the captain of the team. His paternal grandmother was Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal and his great-uncle was Pakistani general Sher Ali Khan Pataudi. His father was Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, a former captain of the Indian cricket team and the ninth Nawab of Pataudi until the abolition of titles by India in 1971. Following the death of his father in 2011, Saif Ali Khan was proclaimed the Nawab of Pataudi by the villagers of Pataudi State in deference to tradition, although the title carries no official or legal significance.
Khan has two younger sisters, Saba Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan.[10] Khan's mother is Sharmila Tagore, a film actress and a member of Bengal's Tagore family. She is the head of the Indian film censorship board and the grand-niece of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Education
He then followed in his father's footsteps by attending Winchester College, an independent school for boys in the UK. Khan can speak his native languages of Urdu/Hindi and Bengali fluently, as well as English
Career
In 1993 he won the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award for "Aashiq Awara". His breakthrough role came in 1994 with "Yeh Dillagi" opposite Akshay Kumar and Kajol which was his first major hit. Khan went on to play in many films but they failed at the box office. He only had success with multi-starrer hits like "Main Khiladi Tu Anari" (1994), "Imtihaan" (1995), "Kachche Dhaage" (1999) and "Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United" (1999). After some box office failures he had a hit with the film "Kya Kehna" (2000).
His acting career, more or less, went through a relative slump until 2001, when he was cast in Farhan Akhtar's National Film Award-winning "Dil Chahta Hai". Depicting the routine life of affluent Indian youth, it is set in modern-day urban Mumbai and focuses on a major period of transition in the lives of three young friends. Despite receiving a positive critical reception, it was only a moderate box office success in India; it performed well in the big cities but failed in the rural areas, which was attributed by critics to the urban-oriented lifestyle depicted in the movie.
He has since had many box office successes, starting with Nikhil Advani's drama "Kal Ho Naa Ho" (2003), alongside Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta. The film, set in New York, starred Saif as Rohit, Zinta's best friend, who later realises that he loves her. The film was the second top-grossing film of the year, and Khan's performance was praised by critics. He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award among others.
Khan's films have often featured him as the supporting cast, though following the success of "Dil Chahta Hai" and "Kal Ho Naa Ho", producers began signing him on for the main lead. In early 2004 Khan was approached by Sriram Raghavan to star as the globe-trotting bachelor, Karan Singh Rathod, in his directorial debut, "Ek Hasina Thi". The film tells the story of a young woman (played by Urmila Matondkar) who meets with Khan's character, and is subsequently arrested for having links with the underworld.
He followed it with the leading role in Kunal Kohli's romantic comedy "Hum Tum". The film was received favourably by critics and became one of the year's most successful films, with a domestic box office of INR210 million (US$3.8 million). He won the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role and was conferred the coveted National Film Award for Best Actor in 2005 among much controversy. It marked the beginning of his work with Yash Raj Films, one of the largest production houses in Bollywood.
In 2005 Khan appeared in two movies. His first release was Pradeep Sarkar's "Parineeta" (2005), an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1914 Bengali novella by the same name. The film garnered critical acclaim upon release and Khan's portrayal of Shekhar Rai earned him nominations for Best Actor at a number of award ceremonies. His next release was Siddharth Anand's comedy-drama "Salaam Namaste" with Preity Zinta. Produced by Yash Raj Films, it was the first Indian feature to be filmed entirely in Australia and went on to become the year's highest-grossing Bollywood production outside of India, earning INR570 million (US$10 million) internationally.
He next played the protagonist in the English language art film, "Being Cyrus" (2006). Directed by debutant Homi Adajania, the psychological drama revolves around a dysfunctional Parsi family with who Khan's character moves into. The film received predominantly positive reviews, and Khan was particularly praised. Later in the year, he portrayed the character of Iago in Omkara, the Indian adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Othello". Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, the film is a tragedy of sexual jealousy set against the backdrop of the political system in Uttar Pradesh. The film premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was also selected for screening at the Cairo International Film Festival. "Omkara" was embraced by critics and Khan went on to receive major acclaim earning the awards for Best Actor in a Negative Role at the Filmfare, Star Screen, Zee Cine and IIFA ceremonies; his performance was later included in the 2010 issue of the "Top 80 Iconic Performances" by Filmfare.
In 2007 Khan collaborated once again with producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra in the epic drama "Eklavya: The Royal Guard". The movie revolves around a jealous and ungrateful ruler who will not let his wife die in peace because she is uttering the name of Eklavya. Although the film did not succeed at the box office, it was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars. He next appeared in the action comedy "Nehlle Pe Dehlla", a production that had been delayed since 2001. The film garnered negative reviews and poor box office returns. His final release of the year was the family drama, "Ta Ra Rum Pum". Directed by Siddharth Anand, it went on to become an economic success at the box office, earning INR646 million (US$12 million) internationally.
Khan received further success in 2008, starring in the Abbas-Mustan thriller "Race" with an ensemble cast including Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy.
2009 saw Khan branch out into film producing when he set up his own production company, Illuminati Films, along with Dinesh Vijan. The company's first release was marked by the romantic comedy "Love Aaj Kal". Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film portrays the feeling of pure love which never changes over time, although the perspective of realizing one's soulmate has changed. It received mostly positive reviews by critics and became one of the highest-grossing films of the year.
He then starred in the dramatic thriller "Kurbaan", alongside Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi. Produced by Dharma Productions, the film marked the directorial debut of Rensil D'Silva and featured Khan in the role of a terrorist. Upon release, Kurbaan was received favourably by critics and Khan's performance was critically acclaimed. t
In 2011 he appeared in Prakash Jha's multi-starrer drama "Aarakshan". Set in the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, the film deals with the policy of caste-based reservations in government jobs and educational institutions. While the film received a mixed critical reaction, his performance was generally well received.
The following year Khan collaborated once again with director Sriram Raghavan, as the protagonist in the action thriller "Agent Vinod". The film, which was produced under his own banner, opened to mixed reviews and eventually under-performed at the box office.
By May 2012 Khan completed working on "Cocktail", a romantic comedy directed by Homi Adjania. Co-starring alongside Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty.The film became a hit with collecting 92 cr. As at February 2013, "Race 2", in which he is the protagonist, was declared a box office semi-hit. He is playing Raja in "Bullet Raja" oppsite Sonakshi Sinha and he has also signed "Go Goa Gone".
In 2005 along with other Bollywood stars, Khan performed at the HELP! Telethon Concert to help raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
Khan took part in two major world tours. He was part of a troupe that included Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra, which went on the Temptations 2004 world tour. Two years later, he toured again, participating and performing in the Heat 2006 concert around the world, along with Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley.
In 2006 Khan appeared along with various other Bollywood actors at the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian culture along with Rani Mukerji, and Aishwarya Rai on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, held in Delhi.