Humshakals isn't Saif Ali Khan's worst, here are his top 5 doozies

His was something of a dream debut — the son of a legendary actress, faultless pedigree, and a hit with his first film. When Saif Ali Khan entered Bollywood in 1993, it looked like he was all set for success. It’s been 21 years since he won awards for best male debut for Aashiq Awara, but has Khan the actor really come of age? Khan’s two-decade long career is fully of false starts and inexplicable choices. He had a few success like Aashiq Awara and Yeh Dillagi, but a string of flops followed. Soon, he was part of ensemble casts and very much the second lead. Even now, most of Khan’s memorable performances were in multi-starrer films like — Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Dil Chahta Hai, Kal Ho Na Ho and Omkara. In most of these films, Khan plays a glorified sidekick. It was in Omkara that Khan surprised everyone. The actor who had been playing the goofy second lead had the talent to turn a second-grade villain into a potent, menacing force. However, for all those who had hoped that Omkara would mean a new beginning for Khan’s acting career, Khan’s choices have continued to swing between clever and perplexing. And we’re not just talking about Humshakals. Here are five Saif Ali Khan films that should only be watched after ingesting potent intoxicants. [caption id=“attachment_1590157” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A screengrab from Humshakals[/caption] 1. Pehchaan: This film is set in a world where genetics has tied itself in such a knot that Raza Murad’s sons are Saif Ali Khan and Suniel Shetty. We’re well aware that no one should expect logic from 90s’ Bollywood, but even by that yardstick, Pehchaan was a doozy. The film was about a judge who is targeted by one of the people he wrongly sentenced. There’s child abduction, a villain who waits ten years to hatch his plan to wreak vengeance and a lot of seriously bad make-up… and you thought Gopal Subramaniam had it bad. 2. Tara Rum Pum Pum: It sounds like fun and games, but this was a toneless cacophony of a film. Rani Mukerji plays the role of an aspiring pianist who gives up studying music in Cambridge to marry a wealthy racing car driver, Rajveer Singh (Saif Ali Khan). While many believe having a pet can be a substitute for having children, in Tara Rum Pum Pum, it’s the other way round. The kids were named Princess and Champ, which suggests all Rani and Saif’s characters wanted were dogs, but got a human son and daughter instead. More ridiculous than the kids’ names was Khan’s melodramatic performance as a racing car driver who must overcome fear and return to the racing track. Tashan: In this film, Khan plays the role of an Indian English teacher at a call centre who for some weird reason has an English surname and goes by the name Jimmy Cliff. His mother’s name? Mrs Pakhwana (How? We are also wondering the same thing). Khan’s Cliff is a nincompoop who readily agrees to steal from a don known to be a ruthless killer, all for a girl he hardly knows for a week. Worse, Khan was Akshay Kumar’s sidekick in the film. While Kumar got the girl and the moolah, all Khan got in Tashan was a very, bad song. 4. Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic: This film is Mary Poppins, but smothered with Bollywood masala. Khan plays a loner who kills a couple in a car accident. The court orders him to take care of the couple’s kids as a form of punishment (because that makes complete sense, of course). Unable to manage the kids on his own, he hires Rani Mukerji as a governess. Except it turns out she is a fairy in disguise and obviously she brings a lot of pyaar and magic to the otherwise drab household. As far as Saif was concerned, it was more curse and less magic. 5. Yaar Gaddar: Continuing the perplexing genetics in Bollywood films, Khan was Mithun Chakraborty’s bratty baby brother. Enough said.