Saif Ali Khan is an Indian film actor and producer who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. The son of cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore, he made his screen debut in the early 1990s and has since worked across romantic, comedy, action, and thriller genres. He is widely associated with the Pataudi family, the erstwhile princely house of Pataudi in Haryana.
Key Facts
| Full name | Sajid Ali Khan (known professionally as Saif Ali Khan) |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 August 1970, New Delhi |
| Family | Son of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore; brother of Soha Ali Khan and Saba Ali Khan |
| Spouses | Amrita Singh (married 1991, divorced 2004); Kareena Kapoor (married 2012) |
| Children | Sara Ali Khan, Ibrahim Ali Khan, Taimur Ali Khan, Jehangir Ali Khan |
| Occupation | Actor, film producer |
| Production company | Illuminati Films (co-founded 2008) |
| Notable honour | Padma Shri (2010); National Film Award for Best Actor (2004) for Hum Tum |
| Education | Lawrence School, Sanawar; The Lockers Park School and Winchester College, United Kingdom |
Background
Saif Ali Khan was born in New Delhi on 16 August 1970. His father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, was a former captain of the Indian cricket team and the titular Nawab of Pataudi; his mother, Sharmila Tagore, was a leading actress in Hindi and Bengali cinema and a grand-niece of Rabindranath Tagore. He was educated at The Lawrence School in Sanawar (Himachal Pradesh) and later in the United Kingdom at Lockers Park and Winchester College.
Career
Early years (1992–1999)
Saif made his film debut with Parampara (1993), directed by Yash Chopra, though Aashiq Awara (1993) was released earlier and earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. The 1990s were uneven commercially, but he featured in successful ensemble films including Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) and Yeh Dillagi (1994).
Breakthrough (2001–2004)
His career trajectory shifted with Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai (2001), in which he played the comic character Sameer alongside Aamir Khan and Akshaye Khanan, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) consolidated his standing, and Hum Tum (2004), directed by Kunal Kohli, brought him the National Film Award for Best Actor.
Established lead (2004–2010)
Notable films of this period include Parineeta (2005), Salaam Namaste (2005), Vishal Bhardwaj's Omkara (2006), in which he played Langda Tyagi (a role adapted from Iago in Shakespeare's Othello), Race (2008), and Love Aaj Kal (2009). In 2008 he co-founded the production house Illuminati Films with Dinesh Vijan.
Later work
Subsequent films include Cocktail (2012), Agent Vinod (2012), Bullet Raja (2013), Rangoon (2017), and Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020). He moved into long-form streaming work with Sacred Games (2018–2019) on Netflix, playing police inspector Sartaj Singh in the adaptation of Vikram Chandra's novel; the series was India's first Netflix original.
Personal life
Saif married actress Amrita Singh in 1991; they have two children, actors Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim Ali Khan. The couple divorced in 2004. He married actress Kareena Kapoor in 2012, and the couple have two sons, Taimur and Jehangir. After his father's death in 2011, Saif was informally regarded within the family as the tenth Nawab of Pataudi, although the title carries no constitutional standing in the Republic of India.
Awards and recognition
- Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – Aashiq Awara (1993)
- Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
- National Film Award for Best Actor – Hum Tum (2004)
- Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role – Omkara (2006)
- Padma Shri, the Government of India's fourth-highest civilian honour (2010)
Significance
Saif Ali Khan is regarded as one of the prominent Hindi-cinema leading men of the 2000s, and his career marks a transition in mainstream Bollywood from melodrama-driven romance to urban, multiplex-oriented storytelling. His participation in Sacred Games also contributed to mainstream Indian actors moving towards streaming platforms.