Saif Ali Khan with Hrithik Roshan. (courtesy: hrithikroshan)
Hrithik Roshan, who first worked with Saif Ali Khan in the film Na Tum Jaano Na Hum and now awaits the release of Vikram Vedha with him, was asked during a media interaction about the difference he has seen in Saif as an actor over the years. Hrithik Roshan began by saying, "I don't think I have the ability to judge that but I do know that Saif has always been a very real actor." The actor added, "Always been real. And he has never tried to be someone he is not. And that was happening at the time when the rest of the actors were trying to be the hero. Trying to have that swag or whatever. Everyone wanted to be the hero but Saif was just himself. So I know from my own experience now that this is the first time in my experience of 22 years that I actually felt this pull to safeguard myself."
Sharing his experience of working with Saif in Vikram Vedha and how it affected and enhanced his performance, Hrithik added, "I felt this instinctive pull that I have to be very, very real in this film because I am opposite an actor who is one of the most real actors I have seen in our cinema and I have been a huge Saif fan for the past decade. The earnest sincerity that he has is very, very rare. So being opposite him in this was enhancing, heightening my performance. Because I was seeing that pull I was feeling towards being for more real. One little mistake, tried to be a little extra and it's gone."
Vikram Vedha, a Hindi remake of the 2017 Tamil neo-noir action thriller of the same name, is slated to release in theatres on September 30 and it will clash with Mani Ratnam's magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan. The original version featured Madhavan and Vijay Setupathi in the lead roles. The Hindi remake also stars Radhika Apte and Sobhita Dhulipala. The film has been written and directed by Pushkar-Gayathri, who also helmed the original.