Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; July 16, 2018)

Saif Ali Khan has been flaunting a beard and long hair for a few months now. No, it’s not his idea of a mature look at 47. It’s for Navdeep Singh’s upcoming action thriller, tentatively titled Hunter. In the film, which is set in 1780 Rajasthan, Saif plays a Naga sadhu. “Don’t get ideas,” he says with a laugh, adding, “I wear clothes even though I shouldn’t be because naga means nanga. My character is a failed Naga sadhu, who has strong notions of revenge. I even got my ears pierced for the role, which I was worried about initially. My hair has grown a lot. It bothered me throughout summer, when I was shooting in Rajasthan’s sweltering heat. It took me 40 minutes to two hours sometimes to just get into hair and make-up for the part.”

According to Saif, his role in Hunter, which is 50 per cent filmed, is weird, but a part of a lifetime. He says, “I’ve always felt that there is one entity that is giving me things that I don’t deserve. That’s how I feel for the role, also. It’s too good to be true and it’s a complete experience. And though it takes ridiculous two hours of makeup and hair, it’s like the journey of a warrior in a Westerner (character in a Western film), who goes into another space altogether with his experiences. It’s so fulfilling to watch old forts in Rajasthan come alive because of these shoots.”

His character also uses weapons in the film. Saif shares, “It’s a difficult role because it requires strong self belief in a different way; to make others and myself believe that I am the most dangerous swordsman in the world requires some conviction. This part continues to be fun. People have also told me that I have started looking different from the time I started shooting this film. I will soon be my normal self again, without the beard. Saif Ali Khan is a ‘character’ I am more used to being, while my part in Hunter is that of a person who is an animal at heart — a flat-footed wild fellow. Fifty days into the shoot and my spotboy also told me that something has changed in me. Some roles do that to you, I guess.”