Saif Ali Khan on ‘Haiwaan’, Akshay Kumar and choosing roles that challenge him

Actor opens up about his changing screen persona, life away from the spotlight and lessons from past films

Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar are back on screen together, but this time they have swapped the roles that helped define their early Bollywood careers. In an interview with Gulf News, Khan shared that the two actors were taking on opposite roles for the first time.

They had previously shared the screen in 1990s hits such as Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Yeh Dillagi, when Akshay was typically the tougher, action-oriented presence while Saif played the more romantic, mischievous and boyish counterpart.

Haiwaan, directed by Priyadarshan, turns that familiar equation around. Saif plays the mature protagonist at the centre of the story, while Akshay takes on the antagonist, marking a striking departure from the dynamic audiences may remember from their younger years.

A different kind of reunion

Khan recalled how Akshay eventually came to be cast opposite him. “This film was offered to me by Priyan sir first, and there was no actor in the other role,” Khan revealed.

“He said, ‘I want you to play this lead, and you're playing the hero in this. And I need to find a very effective villain.’ They asked a couple of people who wanted more, or were not comfortable with the particular part, so he was getting fed up. One day he told Akshay on set that this is the trouble he was having casting. Akshay went off to give the shot, came back, and said, ‘Well, what if I did it?’ So he called me while I was in France on holiday, and I said that'll be amazing for the movie.”

For Khan, the casting offered more than a reunion, allowing the two actors to revisit a familiar partnership from a different starting point.

“Luckily, since I'm playing the protagonist and the lead, he is making sure that I am protected and looked after at all times... He's not catering to stars or actors. He's catering to his moment, and that is incredible.”

Khan also reflected on how their on-screen dynamic had changed over the years.

“In Yeh Dillagi, Akshay played a more mature elder brother, but I would say that younger guy was the soul of the movie. Akshay always played the tougher, slightly more grown-up, action, and cooler kind of guy. But in this film, finally, after so long, I am playing the mature, tough guy, which feels like a real coming-of-age.”

Working with Priyadarshan and Mohanlal

The film also reunited Khan with Priyadarshan, whose approach to filmmaking he found refreshingly straightforward. “Priyan sir is in charge of his frame and his movie, and he's very true to the world of the film.”

Khan also shares the screen with Malayalam cinema icon Mohanlal, whose understated acting left a strong impression on him.

“Mohanlal sir is an amazing actor,” Khan says. “I, of course, saw the film when I was offered it, and I saw it a couple of times because I was just amazed by what Mohanlal sir was doing. He's such a subtle actor, and he's so real.”

Mohanlal, who makes a cameo in Haiwaan, particularly struck Khan through the small physical details in his performance. “Small, small details and the clarity with which he works... Sometimes it looks like he's not doing anything, but it conveys so much.”

Khan also sees the film as an opportunity to take on one of the more interesting roles of his career. “It's not very often that I get such a nice person to play; such a kind and optimistic person at the same time, tough, strong, and sympathetic.”

Life away from the spotlight

Away from the film, Khan’s Mumbai office offered a more personal picture of the actor. Framed photographs of Kareena Kapoor Khan and their children sat alongside glimpses of family life, making the space feel less like a celebrity workplace and more like a private corner of his world.

During the conversation, Khan spoke about taking his sons to an AC/DC concert and laughed at the media obsession with celebrity “airport looks”, offering a glimpse of the relatively unguarded personality behind his public image.

That intimacy was particularly striking given the intense scrutiny Khan had faced since the January 2025 stabbing at his Mumbai home.

“I wasn't a big fan of security, and I quite liked an open thing,” Khan shared. “But you have to understand my takeaway is that there's a lot of haves and have-nots in the world, and you should not tempt fate. So you have to lock the doors, you have to put away the valuables, and you have to understand how lucky you are and how unlucky most people are.”

Looking back at his choices

Khan also reflected on some of the missteps in his career, including Humshakals, and the choices he had made along the way.

“Nobody put a gun to your head and made you. But it seemed like a good idea at the time. I personally think I was miscast in Humshakals because it's not my thing. Whereas there are certain actors who could really pull that off, and you need a kind of commitment and an ability to make people laugh on a very different level, which perhaps I wasn't able to convince myself to do, or wasn't basically good enough in it to do. So I won't blame the movie at all... I stand by the movie, and I stand by him, and of course we have to stand by all our movies,” he said.

Looking back on what continues to drive him, Khan said, “What motivates me is to have something to do, but also something to look back on.”

Haiwaan releases in UAE cinemas on September 10.