With inputs from Simran Pavecha
When people ask who is one actor who looks even better in real life, I’d be the first to say Saif Ali Khan because he does! He glows and is gorgeous. Growing up in the 90s, I’ve enjoyed his movies, crushed on him, idolized him and come back to the reality that he can be problematic. Don’t believe me, here are some examples:
Black Buck Case
During the shooting of Sooraj Barjatya’s Hum Saath Saath Hain, Salman khan, along with Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu, killed two blackbucks in Bhagoda ki Dhani in Jodhpur. Saif was charged under the Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and Section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC. He has since been acquitted, but no one can deny his involvement in killing a protected species.
The Assault Case
In 2012, Saif Ali Khan was arrested for assaulting a South African businessman by the Colaba police. Saif was dining with a group of people when they were asked to tone down their behaviour, according to the victim. After no change, they decided to leave. Saif met them at the staircase where the altercation took place. The victim, Iqbal Meer Sharma, had broken his nasal bone while his father-in-law had been pushed.
“Nepotism Rocks”
Kangana Ranaut, for all her faults, did point out that Bollywood is plagued with nepotism. Her statements started a huge debate, and in the ruckus, Saif Ali Khan, along with Karan Johar and Varun Dhawan, thought it would be the best time to regale their privilege at the 2017 IIFA awards. They acknowledged they were in the industry due to their “papa” and started chanting ‘nepotism rocks’ while taking sly digs at Kangana. Please, Saif, back up your claims with talent, at least!
Gotta Add Eugenics To Bollywood
After the backlash against his ‘nepotism rocks’ skit, he went on to pen an open letter saying he didn’t believe in it but then went on to justify it in his ‘non-apology’ apology letter. He went on to compare star kids with race horses, probably in a bid to say “acting genes” pass on? Maybe he should have tried being a cricketer, too, if that’s how genetics worked. Summarising his frankly absurd open letter in a paragraph would be an insult to absurdity, so I urge you to read his diatribe. It has gems like “It’s a genetic investment that the producer was making.” (about star kids) and “If you need another example, then take race horses. We take a derby winner, mate him with the right mate and see if we can create another grand national winner. So, in that sense, this is the relationship between genetics and star kids.”
‘Nuff with the gay jokes!
Remember the time when Saif Ali Khan was asked if he had ever kissed another person of the same gender on Koffee With Karan? He had said, and I quote, “Girls can, like, kiss each other without being gay, no? Guys can’t.” At that point, Karan Johar intercepted and tried to explain that’s not as straightforward as this, but he continued, saying, “If I kissed a guy, I would be gay.” To which Karan said, “You wouldn’t be. You could be gay curious, gay adjacent, gay experimental. The lines are blurred all the time, you must know that.” But he didn’t stop. He continued to display his unabashed ignorance and said, “When you’re blurring the lines, you’re gay.” And Karan Johar, again, said, “You’re not gay. You’re just blurring the lines That’s just the high school boy in you talking.”
Never thought would say it, but Saif, please listen to Karan. And with so much money, you could surely pay for a course on unlearning and deconstructing toxic masculine stereotypes. Haina, Nawab Sahab?