Jul 14, 2026 10:30am IST
Saif Ali Khan on 20 Years of ‘Omkara’: ‘It’s the First Time I Felt Like a Proper Actor’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Saif Ali Khan’s Langda Tyagi in “Omkara” marked a turning point in his career. The Vishal Bhardwaj directorial, which turns 20, brought together an eclectic cast under one roof. While the actor’s performance was highly praised, his buzz cut became a talking point, too. It wasn’t the first time he had cut his hair for a film, though. Khan remembers, “I had cut my hair for something and Soorajji (Sooraj Barjatya) — he wasn’t upset, but he said, ‘Oh, I wish you hadn’t cut it. I wanted the long hair because that’s what I imagined you as.’ So, I think I had to put a patch on. But for ‘Omkara,’ there was a lot of talk about the hair, with Vishal really wanting that commitment and me resisting it all the way. I think my mom also warned me at some point. She said, ‘Be careful. Don’t go and just ruin your face because somebody suggests it for a movie.’ It felt incredibly liberating once it was done. We did it the night before the shoot.”
He further adds, “I tried to delay it as much as possible. It doesn’t sound like a big deal today, but it was quite a big step then. It was kind of made to feel like a nice haircut was your bread and butter, and to cut it off was crazy. But it was also about being committed to acting.”
Related Stories
On a lighter note, he says, “I remember it very clearly, though. They made a joke out of it at the time. It was Eid and Vishal said, ‘Come on, qurbani. Let’s do it for the movie.’”
Reflecting on the making of the film and its diverse cast, he shares, “Just that artistic sense of freedom… The fact that, ‘Okay, this is exactly what I’m here for. The joy of acting.’ It’s the first time I felt like an international or a proper actor. Vishal had brought all these NSD actors together with all these mainstream actors. We had Deepak Dobriyal. There was Bipasha Basu in one item number, apart from her role. There was Vivek Oberoi, Kareena, Ajay Devgn and Naseeruddin Shah. A very interesting bunch of actors, really. And everyone wanted to do good cinema. We were out there in the middle of nowhere, in these beautiful fields.”
Khan says, “It was a magical time. They made a beautiful book out of it. And I hope I always remember it because it was about everyone’s good intentions and the kind of cinema everyone loved. I don’t know if it’ll keep happening. It’s been two decades, but I do remember it like it was recent.”
Comments are moderated. They may be edited for clarity and reprinting in whole or in part in Variety publications.