Vikram Vedha star Saif Ali Khan: Despite my insecurity, I don’t shy away from sharing screen space with another actor

Looking at his filmography, it won’t be wrong to say that National award-winning actor Saif Ali Khan is one of the most secure talents in the Hindi film and entertainment industry. The Vikram Vedha actor has appeared in multiple films where he has worked alongside other superstars. While one would assume that he doesn’t fear being overshadowed by another actor in the same film, what he revealed in a recent media interaction came as a surprise to many. 

Saif has been in the industry since 1991 and has appeared in multiple 'two-hero' films with the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and Hrithik Roshan among others in parallel roles. Interestingly, in his latest outing Vikram Vedha, Saif is sharing the screen space with Hrithik Roshan once again after Na Tum Jaano Na Hum in 2002. 

In an exclusive conversation with a group of journalists in Mumbai on Friday evening, Saif was asked how he feels so secure and confident as an actor to be part of films alongside another superstar. The actor prompted candidly, "I am not secure as an actor and I think it is an achievement that despite my insecurity, I do not shy away from acting in an ensemble cast or sharing screen space with another great actor! I gather my courage to do it and that is the truth. There were moments when I was like 'Oh no! this is gonna be tough!' but at the same time I did it." 

Vikram Vedha is the Hindi remake of a Tamil film of the same name. It is directed by the director duo Pushkar and Gayatri, who also made the original Tamil film that released it in 2017. In the Tamil film, R Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi played Vikram and Vedha respectively. 

Talking about the challenge of bringing two superstars together in a film, Saif explained, "I think as actors we all are at different phases in our career at different times. For instance, I was very willing to do a part that is interesting and this is such a well-written, well-balanced script where both the characters are equally important. You know what I mean, it's well balanced." 

"Having said that, I am at a stage in my career where I am willing to experiment. Maybe when there are two superstars exactly at the same phase of their career, the same level of superstardom, then it might be challenging for the makers to bring them together." 

The action-thriller Vikram Vedha, also featuring Rohit Saraf, Radhika Apte, Sharib Hashmi and Satyadeep Mishra among others, released in the theatres on October 30.