Unlike most other star sons, the young Nawab of Pataudi didn't get a high-profile launch. With no one really reading his potential early and no Godfather to back him, Saif has had to fend for himself all the way.

During the shooting of Sooraj Barjatya's 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' (1999) Saif was booked for going on a shooting spree with Salman Khan and a few others and shooting down a black buck in Rajasthan.

Earlier, he had found himself in the throes of controversy, when he and his then wife Amrita Singh reportedly barged into the office of a film magazine and created a scene for writing against Amrita.

In 2005, along with other stars, Khan performed at the HELP! Telethon Concert to help raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Saif took part in Temptation 2004 and performed nineteen stage shows along with Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherji, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra. The tour was a commercial success.

In 2006, Saif toured again with Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley. The same year he appeared at the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne along with Rani Mukerji, and Aishwarya Rai.

Saif is closel attached to his children. His daughter Sara didn't let him shoot until she had double-checked safety cables that Saif was to wear while filming a difficult action sequence for the film Race. Saif was required to jump from a huge air balloon, onto a running car.