Early life

Khan was born on 16 August 1970 in New Delhi, India. He is the son of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, a former captain of the Indian cricket team and the titular Nawab of Pataudi from 1952 until 1971, when the remuneration (privy purses) and privileges of the princes were abolished by the Government of India and official recognition of their titles was ended. Khan is of Bengali Tagore ancestry on his mother's side. His paternal ancestors came to subcontinent during the times of the Lodhi dynasty. His paternal grandfather, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, eighth Nawab of Pataudi, played cricket for England and after 1947 for India as the captain of the team. His paternal grandmother was Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal and his paternal great-uncle was Sher Ali Khan Pataudi, who served in British Indian Army, and after moving to Pakistan, following the Partition of India, became a general in Pakistani army. Khan's mother is Sharmila Tagore (also called; Begum Ayesha Sultana), a film actress who converted to Islam before marriage to his father, and the head of the Indian film censorship board. Khan has two sisters, one of whom is actress Soha Ali Khan who is married to Kunal Khemu .

Khan studied at the Lawrence School, Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh then in England at Lockers Park School, Hertfordshire, and Winchester College.

Acting career

Early work, until 2000

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 star in many films but they failed at the box office, most notably with Aditya Pancholi in Surakshaa (1995), Ek Tha Raja (1996) and Hameshaa (1997). He only had success with multi-starrer hits like Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Imtihaan (1994), 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).

2001-03

In 2001 he was cast in Farhan Akhtar's National Film Award-winning Dil Chahta Hai, co-starring Aamir Khan and Akshaye Khanna. 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 received much acclaim for his role as Sameer with critic Taran Adarsh calling it his career-best performance.

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.

2004-08

To date, 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. When Khan was initially offered the project, he was unable to do it due to his busy schedule. However, when the director approached him several months later, he agreed to do the film. Upon release, the film was critically embraced, with Khan's performing earning praise. The Deccan Herald reported, "From suave loverboy to self-serving skunk, he (Khan) moves with such brilliance that he leaves you breathless He holds his own in a movie that is completely Urmila's." For his performance, Khan received nominations at the Star Screen, Zee Cine and IIFA ceremonies.

He followed it with the leading role in Kunal Kohli's romantic comedy Hum Tum. Featured opposite Rani Mukerji, the film follows the encounters of the two main characters until they, after several years and various meetings, become friends and finally fall in love. The film was received favourably by critics and became one of the year's most successful films, with a domestic box office of ₹210 million (US$3.1 million). Khan played the role of Karan Kapoor, a young cartoonist and womaniser whose relationship with Rhea Prakash (played by Mukerji) changes his perception of women and life. Rediff.com wrote about his performance: "Saif reprises his urbane self from Dil Chahta Hai and Kal Ho Naa Ho, peppering it with occasional fits of introspection and angst, and marking himself as an actor whose time has come." 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. Prior to being cast, the film's producer, Vidhu Vinod Chopra was initially reluctant in casting Khan as the male protagonist because he felt that "I could not manage it". After much deliberation, Chopra was persuaded by Sarkar who felt that Khan was perfect for the role. 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. Derek Elley from Variety wrote, "Khan, who has gradually been developing away from light comedy, again shows smarts as a substantial actor." His next release was Siddharth Anand's comedy-drama Salaam Namaste opposite 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 ₹570 million (US$8.5 million) internationally. Khan played the role of the egotistic, laid-back chef, Nikhil Arora. According to Khalid Mohamed, "Salaam Namaste is unthinkable without Saif Ali Khan. He rescues several untidily written scenes with his neat wit and that flustered 'how-did-I-get-into-this-soup?' facial expression."

He next played the protagonist in the English language art film, Being Cyrus (2006), co-starring alongside Naseeruddin Shah and Dimple Kapadia. 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. Variety described his performance as "powerhouse" and further wrote, "It is Khan's movie through and through, in a performance of rugged, contained malevolence which trades on his previous screen persona as a likable best friend as well as his stint as the manipulative outsider in Being Cyrus. It is smart casting, superbly realized."

In 2007, Khan collaborated once again with producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra in the epic drama Eklavya: The Royal Guard, alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sharmila Tagore and Vidya Balan. Set in the state of Rajasthan during the early years of Indian independence, 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. The Full Hyderabad described Khan's performance of Harshwardhan as "sombre and understated," played with a "brooding and contemplative sensibility." 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. Khan's role was small, and was not well received. 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 ₹646 million (US$9.6 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. The feature was loosely adapted from the 1998 American film Goodbye Lover, and became one of the biggest box office hits in India, earning ₹617 million (US$9.2 million) and grossed over ₹200 million (US$3.0 million) abroad. Critic Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN wrote, "Of the cast, Saif Ali Khan stands out as the chap with the least dialogue but the one who makes the best impression." This was followed by three projects produced by Yash Raj Films: Tashan, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic and Roadside Romeo, all of which were successful.

Producer and other works, 2009-present

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 realising one's soulmate has changed. It received mostly positive reviews by critics and became one of the highest-grossing films of the year. For his portrayal of Jai Vardhan Singh and the younger Veer Singh, Khan went on to receive several Best Actor nominations at a number of award ceremonies, including Filmfare. A review in The Economic Times described his performance as "refreshing natural" and "outstanding". 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. Critic Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama wrote: "Saif is extraordinary in a role that only proves his versatility once again. If he won your heart with a winning performance in Love Aaj Kal a few months ago, you need to watch this supremely talented actor underplay his part so beautifully in Kurbaan.

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. Khan portrayed the character of Deepak Kumar, a rebellious student who joins the mafia. To prepare for the role, Khan was required to take acting workshops along with the rest of the cast. Prior to its release, the film was banned from releasing in select cities across India due to its controversial subject. 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 920 million. As at February 2013, Race 2, in which he is the protagonist, was declared a box office semi-hit. It eventually crossed the ₹1 billion (US$15 million) mark; collecting ₹1,042 million (US$15 million). He recently starred in his fourth home production Go Goa Gone, which is the first zombie horror comedy ever produced in Bollywood. Then he appeared in Tigmanshu Dhulia's Bullet Raja opposite Jimmy Shergill and Sonakshi Sinha. The film flopped at the box office.

Saif Ali Khan has recently been signed on by Oxemberg, part of the Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd, as their brand ambassador. He has also been signed as the brand ambassador for Siyaram's Shirtings and Suitings partnering with M.S.Dhoni.

In 2014, his first release was Sajid Khan’s Humshakals along with an ensemble cast of Ritesh Deshmukh, Ram Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Esha Gupta. The film met with poor reviews and collections. His second release was his home production film Happy Ending alongside Ileana D'Cruz, Kalki Koechlin and Govinda. Both the films tanked at the box office. He also did a cameo in Dolly Ki Doli.

Khan then acted in Kabir Khan's post 26/11 counter-terrorism drama Phantom with Katrina Kaif. It was released on August 28, 2015.

Personal life

Khan married actress Amrita Singh in October 1991. After thirteen years of marriage and two children (daughter born in 1993, and son born in 2001), the couple divorced in 2004. The children live with their mother.

After his divorce, he dated Rosa Catalano, a Swiss model born in Italy, whom he met in Kenya, for three years. They were later said to be considering marriage, but then broke up.

On 18 February 2007, Khan was admitted to Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai due to chest pain while rehearsing for his performance at the Stardust Awards, to be held that night.

Khan had been dating actress Kareena Kapoor since October 2007. In October 2009 he publicly spoke of his relationship with Kapoor and the prospect of marriage stating, that in his opinion people said that marriage does not affect one's career but in fact it does and that today the whole definition of marriage has changed. He said, that he and Kareena were so well connected, so close that marriage is just a stamp of validation for the society. Saif and Kareena got married in court on 16 October 2012.

On 22 September 2011 Khan's father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi died. To please the sentiments of some residents of the village Pataudi of Haryana, a pagri ceremony was held which symbolically installed him as the tenth Nawab of Pataudi; however, the princely title has had no official recognition since 1971. The pagri ceremony was attended by the incumbent Chief Minister of Haryana.

Other work

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.

Controversies

In 1998, Khan was charged with poaching two blackbucks in Kankani during the filming of Hum Saath Saath Hain along with co-stars Salman Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam. A lower court charged him with the others under the Wildlife Act and the IPC. He had filed a revision petition before a sessions court which discharged him of Section 51 (causing harm to wildlife) of Wildlife Act and both of 147 (punishment for rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly of persons) of the Indian Penal Code. The Rajasthan state government then filed a revision petition before the Rajasthan high court which again added Section 149 against him, which it had dropped. The Jodhpur court has summoned him along with all the accused for commencement of the trial with the revised charges on 4 February 2013.

In 2008, Khan was also involved in assaulting a photographer, Pawan Sharma, while filming Love Aaj Kal at Patiala railway station.

In 2012, Khan was dining with his friends, including Kareena Kapoor and Amrita Arora, at the Wasabi restaurant in Taj, Mumbai and making a din and was repeatedly requested by the restaurant management to be quieter. Khan then allegedly assaulted the complainants, Iqbal Sharma, a businessman, who suffered a fractured nose, and an elderly man. Khan was arrested under section 325 of the Indian Penal Code, and released on bail on a surety of ₹3,000 (US$45) by the Mumbai Police. Khan claimed it was an act of self-defence and filed a case levelling counter allegations. However, the police refused to register Saif's case since he could not produce any evidence.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating him in an alleged Hawala transactions case. The ED suspects that Saif Ali Khan illegally purchased a high-end car in 2004 through Hawala, a system allegedly in violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Awards and nominations

See also: List of awards and nominations received by Saif Ali Khan

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Actor	Producer	Cameo
1992	Parampara	Pratap Singh	Yes
1993	Aashiq Awara	Jimmy / Rakesh Rajpal	Yes
1993	Pehchaan	Karan	Yes
1994	Imtihaan	Vicky	Yes
1994	Yeh Dillagi	Vikram "Vicky" Saigal	Yes
1994	Main Khiladi Tu Anari	Deepak Kumar	Yes
1994	Yaar Gaddar	Jai Verma	Yes
1994	Aao Pyaar Karen	Raja	Yes
1995	Surakshaa	Amar / Prince Vijay	Yes
1996	Ek Tha Raja	Sunny	Yes
1996	Bambai Ka Babu	Vikram "Vicky"	Yes
1996	Tu Chor Main Sipahi	Raja / King	Yes
1996	Dil Tera Diwana	Ravi Kumar	Yes
1997	Hamesha	Raja / Raju	Yes
1997	Udaan	Raja	Yes
1998	Keemat: They Are Back	Ajay	Yes
1998	Humse Badhkar Kaun	Sunny	Yes
1999	Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan	Raju Tarachand	Yes
1999	Kachche Dhaage	Dhananjay "Jai" Pandit	Yes
1999	Aarzoo	Amar	Yes
1999	Biwi No.1	Deepak	Yes
1999	Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United	Vinod	Yes
2000	Sanam Teri Kasam	Vijay Verma	Yes
2000	Kya Kehna	Rahul Modi	Yes
2001	Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega	Prakash	Yes
2001	Dil Chahta Hai	Sameer	Yes
2001	Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein	Rajiv "Sam" Saamra	Yes
2002	Na Tum Jaano Na Hum	Akshay	Yes
2003	Darna Mana Hai	Anil Manchandani	Yes
2003	Kal Ho Naa Ho	Rohit Patel	Yes
2003	LOC Kargil	Capt. Anuj Nayyar	Yes
2004	Ek Hasina Thi	Karan Singh Rathod	Yes
2004	Hum Tum	Karan Kapoor	Yes
2005	Parineeta	Shekhar Rai	Yes
2005	Salaam Namaste	Nikhil "Nick" Arora	Yes
2006	Being Cyrus	Cyrus Mistry / Xerxes	Yes
2006	Omkara	Ishwar "Langda" Tyagi	Yes
2007	Eklavya: The Royal Guard	Harshvardhan	Yes
2007	Nehlle Pe Dehlla	Jimmy	Yes
2007	Ta Ra Rum Pum	Rajveer "RV" Singh	Yes
2007	Om Shanti Om	in song Deewangi Deewangi	Yes		Yes
2008	Race	Ranvir "Ronnie" Singh	Yes
2008	Tashan	Jimmy Cliff	Yes
2008	Woodstock Villa	Himself	Yes		Yes
2008	Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic	Ranbeer Talwar	Yes
2008	Roadside Romeo	Romeo	No
2009	Love Aaj Kal	Jai Vardhan Singh / Young Veer Singh	Yes	Yes
2009	Kurbaan	Ehsaan Khan / Khalid	Yes
2011	Aarakshan	Deepak Kumar	Yes
2012	Agent Vinod	Agent Vinod	Yes	Yes
2012	Cocktail	Gautam "Gutlu" Kapoor	Yes	Yes
2013	Race 2	Ranvir "Ronnie" Singh	Yes
2013	Bombay Talkies	Special appearance in song "Apna Bombay Talkies"	Yes		Yes
2013	Go Goa Gone	Boris	Yes	Yes
2013	Bullett Raja	Raja Mishra	Yes
2014	Humshakals	Ashok	Yes
2014	Lekar Hum Deewana Dil			Yes
2014	Happy Ending	Yudi Jaitely/ Yogi	Yes	Yes
2015	Dolly Ki Doli	Prince Kunwar Aditya Singh	Yes		Yes
2015	Phantom	Daniyal Khan	Yes
2016	Rangoon	-	Yes

[ Source: Wikipedia ]