For ages, Hindi cinema has celebrated and critiqued the Khan trinity - Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan. There have been endless debates, discussions, fights and fallouts among fan clubs on social media about their respective contribution to the world of cinema, and about who’s a bigger star and a better actor. Amid the chaos, there was another Khan, quietly making his own space and carving his own niche.

Even though this Khan started in 1992, attention began to pour on him from 2001 onward, when Farhan Akhtar came to his aid and revived an ailing career. His directorial debut, ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, made the nation realise there was a fourth Khan all along, overpowered by fellow actors, mostly Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty. Of course, the name is Saif Ali Khan. In this defining film of Hindi cinema, Khan was tidier, more tenacious, and polished in his performance.