"I look up to Shah Rukh Khan," says Saif Ali Khan at 'Kartavya' trailer launch
Mumbai, May 7
Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan co-starred in Karan Johar's Kal Ho Naa Ho 23 years ago. The duo is now reuniting, this time as a producer-actor jodi for Netflix's Kartavya.
On Thursday, at the trailer launch of Kartavya, Saif opened up about his "long association" with SRK.
"I've had a lovely and long association with Shah Rukh. He's someone I look up to in many, many ways. I had a short meeting with him. He said that there's a lovely script and he would like me to hear it and do the film. I went through the process of listening to it and meeting the director (Pulkit). Once we finished the shoot and Shah Rukh watched it, he said it's a lovely film. He's very happy with it. That was pretty much the limit of my interaction with him," he shared.
Saif also shared that, as a producer, SRK believes in giving directors complete creative freedom and avoids interfering in their work.
"I didn't meet him on set because he's one of the producers who believe that a director is free to operate and make the film that he wants to make. Sometimes, some kinds of presence can be overwhelming on sets and he understands that. He gave us a lot of room to make the film that we wanted to make. So, that was his involvement. I felt like I was working for his production with his sensibilities. But for that, an everyday involvement wasn't required," he added.
Directed by Pulkit and produced by Gauri Khan under the banner of Red Chillies Entertainment, the film is set to premiere on Netflix on May 15.
The film also stars Rasika Dugal, Sanjay Mishra, Zakir Hussain, Manish Chaudhari and Saurabh Dwivedi in key roles.
Described as a character-driven crime drama, 'Kartavya' explores themes of conscience, justice and consequence against a tense investigative backdrop.
— ANI
Reader Comments
It's refreshing to see actors acknowledging each other's professionalism. Saif's respect for SRK is genuine. But I hope the film isn't just hype - with actors like Rasika Dugal and Sanjay Mishra, the bar is set high. Fingers crossed for May 15!
Love how SRK operates as a producer - letting the director do their thing without interference. That's rare in Bollywood. Saif sounds genuinely impressed. 23 years later, and these two still have great chemistry! 👏
Kal Ho Naa Ho was iconic, but it's been 23 years! Saif saying he 'looks up to' SRK is sweet, but I wish he'd talk more about his own growth as an actor. Nonetheless, the cast looks solid. Hope Kartavya delivers a gripping crime drama.
Character-driven crime drama on Netflix? That's my kind of content! SRK producing and Saif acting - what a combination. The fact that SRK stayed away from sets to avoid being overwhelming shows class. Can't wait to see this! 🎭
Honestly, Saif's humility is admirable. He's a veteran himself but still speaks so warmly about SRK. However, I'm a bit skeptical about the crime drama genre - Bollywood tends to over-dramatize. Hopefully this one stays true to its 'character-driven' promise.
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