Highlights:
- Akshay recalled the 4:30 AM encounter.
- Kareena’s room was next to Akshay’s.
- Saif quickly claimed they were going jogging.
- Saif and Kareena began dating during Tashan.
- The couple married in 2012 and have two sons.
Akshay Kumar gave fans a glimpse into the early days of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor’s relationship while appearing with Saif on Kaun Banega Crorepati 18 to promote their upcoming film Haiwaan.
The conversation turned nostalgic when host Amitabh Bachchan asked Saif whether his relationship with Kareena had started while they were filming Tashan in 2008.
“The love story between you and your wife, Kareena ji, started during the movie Tashan. Is this true?” Bachchan asked.
“Yes, sir,” Saif confirmed.
That prompted Bachchan to ask Akshay, who was also part of Tashan, whether he had noticed anything unusual between his co-stars during the shoot.
Akshay had a particularly memorable story.
“What are you doing?” — Saif had an answer ready
Akshay recalled that he would wake up around 4:30 in the morning while filming the movie. Kareena’s room, as it happened, was right next to his.
“So sir, I used to wake up at 4:30 in the morning. Kareena’s room was right next door. One day, suddenly this door opened, and this gentleman (Saif) came out. Then I asked, ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Nothing, we are both going for a jog.'”
The explanation immediately became the joke of the KBC conversation.
Saif, playing along with the memory, repeated, “Yes! Early morning jog.”
Akshay then added another layer to the story, joking, “So he had come to wake her up to go for a jog.”
The exchange left both Saif and Bachchan laughing, while offering a playful look at the beginnings of what would eventually become one of Bollywood’s best-known relationships.
Saif and Kareena began dating during the making of Tashan. They eventually married in 2012 and are now parents to two sons, Taimur and Jehangir.
Amitabh Bachchan has a family connection too
The episode also revealed an unexpected connection between Amitabh Bachchan and Saif through Kareena’s extended family.
“Many people don’t know this, but he is related to me,” Bachchan told Saif, who appeared surprised and responded, “Me?”
Bachchan explained that the connection comes through Raj Kapoor’s family.
“Raj Kapoor’s daughter Ritu Kapoor’s son, Nikhil Nanda, is married to my daughter, Shweta Bachchan.”
Kareena is Raj Kapoor’s granddaughter, while Nikhil Nanda is the son of Raj Kapoor’s daughter Ritu Nanda. Nikhil is married to Shweta Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter.
Bachchan then jokingly wondered how the extended family should address one another.
“So, now I want to know, how should I address Kareena? What will Kareena call me?”
Saif quickly turned the question into another joke: “Thank god that’s not a question on KBC,” prompting more laughter from Bachchan and Akshay.
Meanwhile, Akshay and Saif’s appearance on the show was part of the promotional campaign for Haiwaan, directed by Priyadarshan.
The crime thriller, which also stars Boman Irani, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Saiyami Kher, Rajpal Yadav, Sharib Hashmi and Rajesh Sharma, is a remake of Priyadarshan’s 2016 Malayalam film Oppam, which starred Mohanlal.
Haiwaan is scheduled to release worldwide on September 11, 2026.
