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Saif Ali Khan was jealous of Kareena Kapoor ‘working with other men’: ‘My rivals would be her allies’
Saif Ali Khan recalled that in the early days of dating Kareena Kapoor, he felt a bit jealous of her working with other actors. Over time, however, they both nurtured a relationship built on maturity and mutual understanding.
Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor began dating on the sets of Tashan.
(Photo: Kareena Kapoor, Instagram)
Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor collaborated on multiple films like Omkara and LOC Kargil before their romance officially began on the sets of Tashan. At the time, Kareena was simultaneously shooting Jab We Met with Shahid Kapoor. Her breakup with Shahid, followed by her subsequent relationship and eventual marriage with Saif, quickly became a major talking point in Bollywood. In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Saif opened up about the early days of their relationship, admitting that he was initially a bit jealous, and somewhat reserved.
“Maybe I was a bit jealous and unsure of how to react to her working with other men. It was all new. These are emotions you need to process maturely, and you need a lot of trust and belief in each other. When things are new, and if you’re naturally insecure in a relationship, it can be tricky to navigate. Normally, I had gone out with girls who had nothing to do with movies as such, over different phases, there was less ‘sharing’ in that sense. But it was wonderful to learn that, to develop that and get over that, and made us quite strong. It once struck me that my rivals would be her allies, and I was like, ‘How do you work that?’ But love triumphs that.”
He also spoke about how he always wished the best for Kareena and her projects, even if it meant rooting for his “rivals.” “You have to wish her success because it makes her happy, and I got to see her happy, even if it means the success of a rival or of someone else. Then you stop thinking in terms of rivalry. You start thinking, you know, one day I’ll be a producer, maybe I’ll sign that guy. There’s tons of space for everyone. So you develop like this. But initially, when it first started, she helped me by saying, just think of it like this.”
Saif also recalled advice from Kareena’s longtime friend and co-star, Rani Mukerji, which helped him navigate their relationship. “Rani was once saying, ‘Don’t think of it in a chauvinistic way,’ which, you know, that’s not my idea of a relationship anyway. But she meant really well. I was working a lot with Rani in those days, and she loves Kareena. It was good advice. She was trying to help me.”
Looking back on how their relationship has evolved, Saif shared how Kareena brings balance to his life. “Balance comes very naturally to her. So it’s not like being in a relationship with another man who’s equally driven, with that main-character energy. I mean, even if it is main character energy, she also wants other things, those other things, and to play a more feminine role, whatever that means. We obviously believe in equal relationships, and we always have in our family. There’s no expectation of what a woman should be or any rigid idea like that. But romantically, in terms of energy, it’s just nice if both people want the same things and are playing slightly different roles.”
He went on to praise her character and creativity. “She truly is an incredible, incredible woman, and I’m so lucky to be with her. She’s one of the most patient and loving people I’ve ever met. She makes a wonderful home for us and has such lovely ideas, very creative in her work, both behind and in front of the camera, but equally creative with us, with our life. And that’s really special.”
Previously, in a 2022 interview with Pinkvilla, Kareena participated in a rapid-fire round on topics ranging from beauty to Gen Z lingo. When asked what the most “Kareena thing” Saif has adopted, she revealed it’s her unique vocabulary. “I think my lingo. Words like ‘guts,’ ‘mess’… the whole world is talking like that. It’s become Gen Z lingo. Suddenly, everyone is like ‘guts’ and ‘mess,’ and I’m like, I want credit for all of that.”
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