Saif Ali Khan: Better to make Baahubali than Mahabharat

Saif Ali KhanParallels were drawn to Delhi Belly specifically its excessive use of verbal profanity when Saif Ali Khans Kaalakaandi arrived at the Censor Board for certification With the makers refusing to oblige to an alleged request of 72 cuts fearing it may deplete the quality of the film the team eventually tapped on the doors of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal FCAT In an interview to midday Khan talks about the passing of his film after it arrived at the FCAT and reflects on his life after being in the industry for almost three decadesAfter facing issues with the Censor Board Kaalakaandi is finally up for releaseYes I think going to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal FCAT was great They passed The movie with one cut See not all bad words are offensive When you show two mafia members you have to show them as they are Theyre crude And thats how they talk You can give the film an A certificate if you dont like the language That will restrict the audience But it would be terrible to have candy floss movies where everyone speaks in the same way The film has gone through a bit of red tape but its worked out well I dont feel like a victim of censorshipDo you think that the Censor Board is curbing creativityI dont know but things are taking a political undertone Its definitely better to make a Baahubali than a Mahabharat People have become sensitive and have started blurring the lines between religion mythology fact and fictionYou will complete 25 years in the industry next year Are you satisfied with the way things have shaped upI am I am enjoying my work tremendously I have an amazing personal life and I am finally secure Id be more satisfied if some of my recent releases would have done well laughs But by nature I am happy and content I dont have any unnecessary expectations from myselfIs there anything you wish remains unchangedI am kind of used to being a star and I hope that doesnt change And when I say the word star it means there should be a certain amount of respect for me on the set and I enjoy some sort of privilege as I have been among the lead cast members If the respect isnt there then there is no point doing what I doHas the inability to give Bollywood a hit over the past few years bothered youI dont want to be a fool and say it doesnt matter It does I have always had a chequered career and currently I am going through a bad patch So all I try and do is work harder and be better But I believe this is the best phase of my career when it comes to performances I think I have become a better actor which is ironic But I have always been a late bloomer Ill keep working and hopefully things will fall into place In the end I cant be philosophical about achieving success alwaysHave you gone through the midlife crisisNot yet and I dont think I will Maybe because Ive learnt to live life from my father I like being middleaged as this is the time when you take things a little slower I want to be fit look good And I know I have got my own vanity I think late 40s is a time to celebrate You sip on whiskey slow down in a good way It is the time when people are normally wiser But it is also true that all these things would be forgotten That is how life is but we keep pushingYour family recently lost the legend Shashi Kapoor Does the fear of your work being reduced to oblivion after death affect youDeath is a constant companion It can happen anytime It will probably be at an inconvenient time All Id like to do is leave behind a nice will for my children and organise everything for my wife and familyYou spoke about leaving behind a will for your children but there are great personalises like Jackie Chan and Warren Buffet who say their children wont inherit their wealth Does this thought cross your mindIts a complicated thing As a parent I need to give some kind of support to my kid but the child shouldnt feel that she doesnt need to do anything and will be taken care off When I started off I didnt get privileges I grew up in South Mumbai but when I started my career I rented an apartment in Lokhandwala The struggle was constant There were auditions to bag that one big role So I have been there and done that Ive made my own money since then and I would want my kids to do the sameBut the media is already making them stars by publishing their pictures all the timeIt also depends on where it is written We have serious newspapers and we also have some websites that dont matter Also people like to read crap If someone is publishing news about a stars kids anyone is free to read it But its not Pulitzer Prizewinning stuff So I dont think there is a need to take it seriously as long as the kid doesnt start considering himselfherself hot property I have tried to bring my kids up normally and encourage that they be downtoearthIs that why you have never hidden Taimur from the mediaIf hiding Taimur would give us privacy I wouldnt mind it But I know it is just going to make things more chaotic So I figured showing him letting him behave normally is betterYoud told me earlier that you want to retire at 50 which is in three years from now Is the plan still onI want to be able to retire at 50 But its really important to work to stay sane Retiring is like not being involved with the world anymore I want to feel productive and probably Id like to do a couple of films a year and follow in the footsteps of people like Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh BachchanIn one of my earlier interactions with you youd said that if not an actor youd want to be a hunter in the jungles of AfricaActually I wanted to be a plumber but there is not much money in that laughs But yes Id like tobe a lion hunter in Africa Just imagine it would be such a cool life to live I am sure a lot of people would ridicule this and laugh but the fact is that people dont relate to other people and listen or empathise with themCatch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get 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