Actors Saif Ali Khan and Shah Rukh Khan made for one of the most exciting duos of Bollywood in the 2000s, especially with their work in the 2003 film Kal Ho Naa Ho and their multiple stints as award show hosts during that time. Both Saif Ali Khan and Shah Rukh Khan made their debuts around the same time and over the years, have made their individual legacies in the industry.
Now, the duo is reuniting again but this time in a different capacity. Saif is leading the Netflix drama Kartavya, which is being produced by SRK under his production house, and Saif was all praise for him at the film’s trailer preview event. “Shah Rukh Khan is someone I look up to in many ways. He told me there is a lovely script that he wanted me to hear and read, so we went through the process of listening to it and meeting the director. Once the film was complete, he said it had come out as a lovely movie and he was very happy with it. So that was pretty much it,” he shared.
When asked about SRK’s process as a producer, Saif said that SRK and wife Gauri Khan both aren’t too interfering and believe in letting the director take on the reins and present their vision for the film. He said, “They weren’t on the set because they are amazing producers and they believe in letting the director be free to operate and make the film they want to, as sometimes their presence can be a bit overwhelming on set. He gave us a lot of room to make the film. But I felt [through the shoot] that I was working with his production with his kind of sensibilities.”
Kartavya, which stars an ensemble cast of Rasika Dugal, Zakir Hussain, Sanjay Mishra and Manish Chaudhri and is directed by Pulkit, sees Saif return to the role of a police officer who is struggling to perform his duty. When asked if the role is kind of a reinvention for him, Saif said, “I don’t feel the need to have a reinvention but if the audience feels it, then great. It’s a film that we all love and wanted to do. Pulkit had a very exciting script, so that was it. But if the audience sees something more in it, then that’s great.” Kartavya will start streaming from May 15.