The 44-year-old star says he miscalculated things previously but feels re-energised and wants to give priority to good scripts over commercial success. "I earlier thought to do different stuff hence took up 'Bullett Raja' and 'Humshakals' because I had not done something like this before. But I realised, it was my mistake.
People expect good cinema from me and I know I am a good actor. Thinking about 'Parineeta', I feel I can do such great films again.
"With 'Happy Ending' I am turning towards good movies again. I will do more films like 'Go Goa Gone' and 'Omkara'. I will not compromise on quality now, commercial success comes later. I feel the need to reinvent now," Saif said in an interview.
The actor says though it may appear to people that he has played safe by doing 'Happy Ending' as it is a romantic-comedy, a genre he is most comfortable with, he has reinvented himself and his character has a lot of substance.
The film, co-starring Ileana D'Cruz and funnyman Govinda has an interesting and quirky screenplay, he said.
"It is a homecoming of sorts but I am not playing safe.
The film has a very modern story. The concept is interesting and I am sure people would be entertained. My character is well nuanced and nicely layered," he said.
The 'Race' star feels he does not have anything to prove to his audience with 100 crore plus hits as he is not as big a star as Shah Rukh or Salman Khan. Saif says with bigger stardom, actors get into a trap of doing big budget films irrespective of quality but he does not feel compelled to go into that territory and would rather give his fans great stories.
"I am not in Salman's and SRK's league. I don't need to give big hits after hits. I don't have anything to prove. My fans will prefer me doing good films instead. This gives me freedom to do more quality stuff," he said.