Delhi:( The COW News Digital)-Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has opened up about the struggles of his early career, revealing that despite belonging to a privileged family, his journey in the film industry was anything but easy.
In a candid conversation with Square India, Saif recalled a time when he earned just ₹1,000 per week — but with a rather unusual condition attached. According to him, a female producer would only release the money after he kissed her on the cheek ten times. “It was a strange but true part of my early days in the industry,” Saif admitted, adding that the memory still feels surreal.
The actor, who was married to actress Amrita Singh at the age of 21 and became a father to Sara and Ibrahim by 25, said that he faced immense household and financial responsibilities at a very young age. “People used to say I was lucky because I kept getting opportunities, but the truth was that I was rarely offered lead roles in good films. Most of my projects during the 1990s failed at the box office,” he explained.
Saif described the entire decade of the 1990s as his “net practice” phase, where he played side characters and supporting roles in a string of films, many of which went unnoticed. Recently, he revisited all his earlier films by watching them on YouTube late at night, calling the experience “humbling and therapeutic.”
The turning point in his career came in the 2000s with films like Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega and the cult hit Dil Chahta Hai, which established him as a romantic hero. Later, his powerful performance as the antagonist in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara (2006) won him critical acclaim and several awards, solidifying his place among Bollywood’s most versatile actors.
Saif was last seen in Netflix’s action-thriller Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins and is now gearing up for Priyadarshan’s upcoming film Haiwan, where he will share screen space with Akshay Kumar.
His story is a reminder that success in the entertainment industry often comes after years of struggle, perseverance, and personal sacrifice — even for those who come from established families.
