Commitments
In 2005, along with other Bollywood stars, Khan performed at the HELP! Telethon Concert to help raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
Khan took part in two major world tours. He was part of a troupe that included Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra, which went on the Temptations 2004 world tour.
In 2006, Khan toured again, participating and performing in Heat 2006 concert around the world, along with Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley.
In 2006, Khan appeared along with various other Bollywood actors at the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian culture along with Rani Mukerji, and Aishwarya Rai on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, to be held in Delhi.
Career
As an actor
In 1993, he won the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award for Aashiq Awara. His breakthrough role came in 1994 with Yeh Dillagi starring opposite Kajol and Akshay Kumar which was his first major hit. Khan went on to star in many films but they failed at the box office. He only had success with multi-starrer hits like Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Imtihaan (1995), Kachche Dhaage (1999) and Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United (1999). After some box office failures he had a hit with the film Kya Kehna(2000).
His acting career, more or less, went through a relative slump until 2001, when he was cast in Farhan Akhtar's contemporary drama Dil Chahta Hai. He received much acclaim for his role as Sameer with critic Taran Adarsh calling it his career-best performance. The success of this film firmly established Saif as one of the industry's most bankable stars.
He has since had many box office successes, starting with Nikhil Advani's drama Kal Ho Na Ho (2003), co-starring alongside Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta. The film, set in New York, starred Saif as Rohit, Zinta's best friend, who later realises that he loves her. The film was the second top-grossing film of the year, and Khan's performance was praised by critics. He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, as well as other awards in that category in other award ceremonies. Khan followed it with the leading role in Kunal Kohli's romantic comedy Hum Tum (2004), his first collaboration with Yash Raj Films. The film follows the encounters of the two main characters until they, after several years and various meetings, become friends and finally fall in love. Khan played the role of Karan Kapoor, a young cartoonist and womaniser whose relationship with Rhea Prakash, played by Rani Mukerji, changes his perception of women and life. Khan's performance was applauded by both critics and audiences. He won the Best Comedian award at the Filmfare, and was conferred the coveted National Film Award for Best Actor in 2005. Khan's next project with the Yash Raj Films production, Salaam Namaste (2005), became India's top-grossing film in the overseas market. The film, which was the first Indian film to be entirely shot in Australia, starred Khan and Preity Zinta as a contemporary cohabiting Indian couple. He was also noted for his performance in a negative role in Ram Gopal Verma's Ek Hasina Thi (2004) and for his role of Shekhar Rai in Pradeep Sarkar's Parineeta (2005), an adaptation of the 1914 Bengali novella, Parineeta by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
In 2006 Khan played the protagonist in the English-language art film, Being Cyrus. His role as Cyrus got him positive reviews. He went on to receive acclaim for his portrayal of lago in the Indian adaptation ofShakespeare's Othello, Omkara. His performance earned him Best Villain awards at the Star Screen, Filmfare, Zee Cine and IIFA Awards.
Khan next acted in Eklavya: The Royal Guard, co-starring alongside his mother for the second time since Aashiq Awara. The film was India's official entry to the Oscars, and Khan's performance as Harshwardhan was appreciated by critics. Taran Adarsh commented, "watching him emote with amazing precision makes you realise the giant strides he has taken as an actor".
Khan's 2007 release, Ta Ra Rum Pum was a moderate box office success. In 2008 Khan starred in the box office hit Race. This was followed by Tashan and Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, two projects produced by Yash Raj Films. Both films performed poorly with audiences.
As a producer
Khan turned Producer when he setup his production company called Illuminati Films in 2009. His first film which is titled Love Aaj Kal starring Deepika Padukone as a female lead opposite him, will be directed by Imtiaz Ali who directed the successful film Jab We Met. Saif’s second film production titled as Agent Vinod, will be directed by Sriram Raghavan. Both films will be made by Saif's production company and will see a UK release by Eros International based in London.
