Saif Ali Khan on 14 years of Race: Ranvir was a chance to indicate a extra mature facet

Saif Ali Khan’s lengthy standing profession is replete with achievements however one success that’s fairly particular to him is the 2008 movie Race, as he says that he felt ‘grown up’ as an actor after taking part in a string of “chocolate boy” characters.

Race opened to acclaim upon its launch on March 21 and went on to turn into one of many largest hits of the yr. The movie, fronted by Khan, additionally featured Anil Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu and Sameera Reddy.

Race — which later become a franchise with two extra installments launched in 2013 and 2018 — chronicled the story of two half brothers, performed by Khan and Khanna, caught in an internet of lies, deceit and greed.

As the suave, highly effective and misleading businessman Ranvir ‘Ronny’ Singh, Saif Ali Khan received reward for enjoying a gray character with ease.

Race, together with Vishal Bharadwaj’s Omkara, is credited for showcasing a distinct facet to the actor, who had earlier than them featured in a collection of romantic dramas and comedies like Ta Ra Rum Pum, Salaam Namaste and Parineeta.

Ahead of the movie’s 14th anniversary, Saif instructed PTI that the pulpy thriller occurred to him on the proper time in his profession.

“At that time, I had executed a whole lot of chocolate boy roles and Race was totally different. Ranvir was a person’s function and also you’ve obtained to have the ability to pull that off! So I wished to try to that was the true problem. You don’t need to seem like you’re making an attempt – you simply need to be the man!

“I had started work in the industry when I was about 20 and I had a very young face. And I had done a lot of different kind of work. This was a time when I had grown up slightly and I felt I could shoulder this and I did shoulder it. That’s why it means something because it was a different achievement without really saying much,” the 51-year-old actor mentioned.

Race, which Saif Ali Khan described as a “smart and sexy thriller”, provided him the possibility to play a “responsible, quieter” function and had one essential requirement: to have a commanding presence.

“It was a kind of roles the place I didn’t need to do a lot other than simply being the man, which additionally required having a sure presence. Ranvir was a chance to play a barely extra critical function and present a extra mature facet and I actually loved doing that.

“It was a more stable, responsible and quieter role. There was a certain maturity to playing Ranvir and I wanted to work with Abbas-Mustan. It worked out in a way that I ended up playing the elder brother’s role and I just really enjoyed it,” he added.

Filmmaker duo Abbas-Mustan powered by means of Race with their trademark relentless plot twists, aided by Pritam’s chartbuster music and the movie’s city setting.

When requested if he felt the viewers, again then, have been hungry for a slick-looking thriller, Saif mentioned one is “constantly underestimating the audience”.

“One of the big cliches in our line is that the audience has become very smart. I think they were always smart. Abbas-Mustan could do things that nobody did. Race was a really clever script and morality wasn’t an issue.”

“A lot of people get hung up on what they can do and can’t do. Here, this was all about infidelity, sibling rivalry and an unpredictable, twisty-turny plot, which was so much fun to do,” he added.

The actor mentioned he remembers the outside shoot of Race in South Africa vividly and recalled how he was in a “really good space” in the course of the filming of the Ramesh Taurani-backed thriller.

Saif mentioned the complete solid was at a “special time” of their lives and “we all brought that special-ness to the screen”, which has been captured within the movie.

“There was one thing nice concerning the solid , everybody from Anil Kapoor, Akshaye, Katrina, Bipasha to Sameera. Katrina Kaif was on her option to turning into such an enormous star and he or she actually nailed the songs. And there was Bipasha who was nice enjoyable to work with!

“Akshaye deserves a lot of credit for making Race what it is by performing his role in such a special way. He is such a gifted actor and he had a lot of fun with that role. It was a combination of everyone’s energy that made it come alive in the way it did. I’ll always remember Race as being one of the coolest and happiest times of my life! One of the most easy-going and fun films that I did,” he added.

Saif Ali Khan will likely be subsequent seen in Vikram Vedha, co-starring Hrithik Roshan, and the multilingual Adipurush, that includes Prabhas and Kriti Sanon.