How Parineeta helped Saif Ali Khan bag Priyadarshan's Haiwaan 20 years later

Saif Ali Khan revealed that his performance in Parineeta helped him land Priyadarshan's Haiwaan nearly 20 years later. The actor also reflected on Omkara, career insecurity, reinvention and rejecting a film offer involving a suitcase full of cash.

In Short

• Saif Ali Khan credited Parineeta for casting in Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan after 18 years
• Omkara was a turning point, breaking his typecast image in Bollywood
• He once rejected a film offer with 25 lakh cash due to lack of script

Saif Ali Khan recently revealed that his performance in Parineeta (2005) played a key role in him being cast in Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan, a project he began working on last year - nearly two decades after the film’s release. In a conversation with India Today, the actor reflected on how certain performances continue to shape opportunities years later, alongside discussions on insecurity in the industry, reinvention, and key milestones like Omkara.

The actor spoke about how past work continues to create unexpected opportunities in his career. “What happens wonderfully is that you do something, and years later it rewards you in another way. I just finished working with Priyadarshan and had the most amazing time. He told me he really liked me in Parineeta. That may not have been the most commercially successful film I’ve done, but it resulted in me getting this movie,” he said.

‘Omkara changed how people looked at me’

Looking back at the films that changed perceptions around him as an actor, Saif told India Today that Omkara remains one of the most defining projects of his career.

“Definitely Omkara would be one big one because, luckily, we have a lot of different types of filmmakers under this umbrella called Bollywood, and Vishal Bhardwaj brought everyone together. Omkara was a magical time because there was a lot of positivity, experimentation, and confidence,” he said.

The actor recalled how the film brought together performers from vastly different cinematic spaces.

“You had this mix of NSD actors and more mainstream actors. You had Bipasha Basu doing an item number and playing that part, and then Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ajay Devgn, Vivek Oberoi, as well as Deepak Dobriyal and Konkona Sen Sharma. It was really a coming together of a lot of different worlds,” he said.

Saif admitted that actors are often boxed into certain images, and Omkara helped him break away from that. “People tend to typecast you and look at you in a certain way. In our line of work, people can be a bit conservative and don’t like taking too many chances with the personalities they cast. But Omkara was two different extremes — there’s the person who does Hum Tum, and then there’s someone who does Omkara, which was really good for me,” the Kartavya actor said.

The actor also mentioned films like Ek Hasina Thi and Parineeta while speaking about how certain performances reward actors much later in their careers.

“All work is interesting because you do something, and then it becomes practice for something else later on. I’m sure everyone experiences that in life - you work on something and it rewards you in unexpected ways later. I think we’re just committed to the job, and it’s wonderful to be part of the process,” he added.

‘I returned a suitcase full of cash’

Saif was also asked if he had ever taken on a project because he feared becoming irrelevant. “I don’t know if I’ve ever consciously done a film because I was scared of becoming irrelevant. I’m sure there are many reasons why you do things, and those reasons keep changing. Sometimes when you’re on top of the world and feeling great, you think, ‘Oh, this could be better,’ but later you look back and realise it was actually an amazing time,” he said.

The actor then shared an anecdote from the ’90s, revealing that he once turned down a film offer despite being offered a large amount of money up front.

“I don’t think I’ve ever done a film purely for money, though I remember once in the ’90s someone gave me a suitcase full of cash - around 25 lakhs in rupees, which was a lot of money then - and said, ‘There’s no script, but we’ll work it out.’ The whole thing felt slightly dodgy. I kept it under my bed for a day and then gave it back the next day. We never did the film,” he recalled.

‘Everyone can be replaced’

Saif admitted that the fear of fading away in the industry is real.

“Maybe that's a kind of motivation at some point. That’s not something that I have thought of till now. I do remember somebody once saying that you shouldn’t stay out of circulation for too long because the industry moves like a fast river - it’s never the same when you come back, and people forget quickly,” he said.

The actor added, “I don’t know if that scares me, but I’m aware that it’s good to keep working because everyone can be replaced. Life moves very fast, and it is competitive. When you’re playing certain kinds of roles, it’s important to keep that momentum going and not become too complacent, sitting on top of your little hill thinking everything is fine.”

Saif added that insecurity is almost built into the profession. “In our profession, being a little insecure and concerned about these things is probably par for the course. I hate that feeling, honestly. I wish I could be completely relaxed and forget about it, and I try to be, but it’s a real thing,” he said.

‘Reinvention happens in life’

Talking about reinvention, Saif said he does not consciously approach his career that way.

“It’s nice. I wanted to have, not do the same things; it would be nice if you can but I don’t know if that's the case. You get offered stuff, and you keep working consistently, is my approach, and once in a while something stands out, and then poeple says its a reinvention. I think most actors people call ‘reinvented’ have actually just been working consistently for years. Sometimes you see something, and you say this guy is amazing, but he has been doing that for the last 20 years,” he said.

Referring to The White Lotus and The X-Files, Saif said, “I was watching The White Lotus recently - the older man who wants to murder his wife — and then I saw him in The X-Files in a tiny role. I thought, ‘This guy has been doing this his whole life.’ So reinvention is not necessarily some grand plan. I think reinvention happens more in life. Every now and then, you update yourself - maybe how you dress, how you think, or how you feel about things. You kind of rewire yourself because getting stuck is what really ages you.”

When asked about roles he would still like to experiment with, the actor said he would love to play a morally conflicted lawyer. “Maybe I’d love to play a lawyer - someone slightly corrupt whose conscience develops over time and who eventually takes a stand,” he concluded.

Saif Ali Khan’s upcoming films and Kartavya

Saif Ali Khan will next be seen in Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan and Rahul Dholakia’s Hum Hindustani. The actor was last seen in the Netflix film Kartavya, backed by Red Chillies Entertainment.

Kartavya follows Pawan, played by Saif Ali Khan, a police officer who comes under scrutiny after a journalist is shot while under his watch. As pressure mounts from his senior officers, he is drawn into a manhunt for the attacker, which pulls him into a web of power, influence and deception.

- Ends