He is one man every man aspires to be. Royal, sophisticated, charming and a perfect Bond-like personality - suave and smooth. His looks are licensed to kill and built for battle in his latest offering, Kurbaan, where the byline reads 'Some love stories have blood on them'. Well, it's important that he bleeds like the rest of us too. Saif has bitten back at his critics ever since the Dil Chahta Hai days. He is a perfect synonym for the line - Return with the vengeance. He has an answer to all the questions in the world. What's good is that his answers inspire to talk like him, sound like him and be like him. This Nawab has a presence off and on screen that one doesn't easily forget. On screen, he infuses each performance with authority (Ek Hasina Thi, Being Cyrus, Race). Off screen, he packs a punch too. "It's funny when you say that because on one hand you're calling me a Nawab and then I have to make sacrifices too. Does a Nawab make a sacrifice?", he questions, to which you are speechless and have no answer to give. There are hardly any false notes (except that he ain't that good a dancer) in the repertoire of this actor who recently was at the centre of a media frenzy over his love making scene with girl friend and actress Kareena Kapoor in Kurbaan. But this Khan is too level-headed to be distracted by all that. Instead, he channels his considerable energies and intelligence into creating intriguing characters. When he talks, he doesn't command respect but gives it back to you. "I'm so sorry to disconnect you like that. Now that we are back, I hope I have answered your question and I hope you got what you were looking for", he says. His words and ideas tumble, and swirl so quickly that the room in which he is sitting for an interview practically starts humming. We're sure it did exactly that when the London press was interviewing the stylised actor in his hotel room. Saif reveals his sacrifices, how unpredictable his girlfriend and actor Kareena Kapoor can be, their poster frenzy and his new name: Antonio Banderas of the Indian Film Industry.

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