Quiz: On Saif Ali Khan’s 51st birthday, check how much you know about his movies and shows

The tenth Nawab of Pataudi, Saif Ali Khan has spent almost three decades in building a career in Bollywood and is counted among one of the most irreverent actors in the industry. His debut, Parampara (1993) may not have impressed many, but the actor came back strong with the action comedy Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), and hit romantic drama Yeh Dillagi (1994), which was an unofficial remake of the Billy Wilder classic, Sabrina (1954). Khan’s early film career was scattered as he featured in several romcoms and a smattering of action comedies, without finding much critical acclaim. In 1999, he starred in Sooraj Barjatya’s family drama Hum Saath-Saath Hain that featured a stellar ensemble cast. This family drama was one of the biggest commercial successes of that year and defined Khan as a commendable performer too.

The actor has since starred in the sleeper hit Kya Kehna (2000), the most iconic coming-of-age romcom Dil Chahta Hai (2001), the emotional drama Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), the contemporary love story Cocktail (2012) and the zombie action-comedy Go Goa Gone (2013), among others.

Most of Saif’s successful ventures either followed an ensemble cast or featured him as a supporting role but the success of Kal Ho Naa Ho earned him the lead role in Hum Tum (2004) opposite Rani Mukherjee. The movie became a commercial success and Saif even bagged a National Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film. Over the years, the Nawab has slipped into a diverse range of roles such as a musician in Parineeta (2005), a young NRI in Australia in Salaam Namaste (2005), a William Shakespeare character in Omkara (2006), a deceptive figure in Being Cyrus (2005), and the ultimate mastermind in the Race movie franchise.

Fans and his peers from the industry couldn’t feel more proud of Khan when he won the Padma Shri in 2010 for Achievement In Hindi Cinema. In fact, Khan’s portrayal of Langda Tyagi in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara (2006) was described as a "powerhouse performance" by Variety and also led him to consider more unconventional roles. Saif was also lauded for his performance in Netflix India’s first original web series Sacred Games (2018) where he essayed the role of Inspector Sartaj Singh and in Amazon Prime Video's Tandav (2021) where he was seen as a deceptive politician.

So, if you feel you know everything about Khan’s movies and shows, here’s a chance to test your knowledge.

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