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Saif's forwarding-addresss cannot be revealed at the moment. But yes, he has found a new home for
himself and Rosa.
"We had to actually pull out of another place that we had almost finalized because the property was under
some kind of dispute. In fact the same property was offered to me again. But I decided I preferred an
apartment to a bungalow.
There's no view left in the bungalows of Mumbai. If you're higher up you
have a nice open view and also you're spared the mosquitoes, and you can call it a home. Earlier I was
apprehensive about a high-rise home.
I felt you paid so much money for a slab of the sky which
could crumble to the dust at any time and then you own nothing."
Saif chuckles, "It's crazy, but they charge you so much money for a box on top of another. Still I want an
apartment and not a bungalow. It's got something to do with living in Mumbai. Even if I own a bungalow with
a garden I don't know how much I'd enjoy sitting in it."
Saif is moving into a high-rise apartment in Bandra. "I think Inshan Aallah, we'll be moving into our new
place within a week. I don't want to give out the location until I move in. I'm not superstitious, in fact defiantly
just the opposite. But I don't want anything to go wrong this time with my new home."
Talking immediately after his return to Mumbai from shooting a potato-chips-ad in Jaipur, Saif sounded tired
but happy about his new place of residence.
So is Saif doing a plethora of product endorsements to pay for his new home? "I don't know if I'm doing too
many ads. I don't do films for money. And if the ads pay well and if they complement my image, then why
not?
It's mutually beneficial to both me and the companies that sign me on. They do a lot of
research before signing me And if it's the correct brand it offers me a positive visibility. Through my ads I
project a personality that brings you closer to the audience.
And most of these ads are fun to
shoot. But the ads have to play it safe. Because the client can reject the ad at any given time. I wish there
was the same transparency in the dealings of cinema."
Saif admits his new home was a major reason for endorsing such a large number of products. "One has to
realize one's dreams in ways that are practical and not a compromise. As long as I don't endorse the wrong
kind of products I'm comfortable doing it."
Wednesday, July 19, 2006 14:53 IST