Saif set for small screen

                             He however refuses to divulge any further details saying it’s too early to make an official announcement. “We’ve liked a couple of concepts, let’s see if one of them takes shape soon. I’d like to do a game show,” says the actor, who has appeared on shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati and Koffee With Karan before.                             

                          

                              On Karan Johar’s chat show, when asked to come up with a catch line that would best describe brand Saif, he had deadpanned, “Strong, reliable and very long.” He insists that there were no dirty thoughts running through his mind and the adjectives were apt: “As an actor, I’ve had long innings and I’d like to believe that I’m strong and reliable,” he reasons, adding with a chuckle, “Hey, it would be a great ad for toilet paper.”

                             

                              Once he returns from his Swiss vacation with Kareena Kapoor, Saif will open the year with Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan. There’s Agent Vinod to wrap up, followed by his third production that’s being penned by Imtiaz Ali and directed by Homi Adajania. Race 2 is also ready to sprint and Saif is upbeat. “Some stories lend themselves to a follow-up, Race is one of them. The danger with sequels is that they often fall short of expectations because one tends to take a lot for granted. We’re trying to avoid that by understanding what worked for Part 1 and have upgraded all that in Part 2. It will be Race reloaded,” he promises.

                             

                               Should the sequel be as successful, is he open to carrying the Race franchise ahead? “Why not?” he nods. “Race is about Ranvir Singh in many ways, and though the film also has other actors playing great characters, I would be saddened to see a Race without me.” He’s just as kicked about Agent Vinod but peeved about the speculations surrounding the edgy action thriller.

                           

                              So, have there been differences with director Sriram Raghavan? “Sure, there are constant differences and we disagree beautifully. If Illuminati Films (Saif’s production company) is to grow into a big production house one day, we need to work with different people and create an atmosphere where everyone is allowed to speak their mind. But at the end of the day, the director is the captain of the ship. Sriram listens to us when we are right, but we are not always right,” he admits.

Edit Post 5 Jan. 2011