Saif Ali Khan, now avid book lover, once laughed at the idea of reading poetry. Watch hilarious video

Actor Saif Ali Khan is among the biggest bookworms in Bollywood. One look at his home library will show you just how much he loves to read and collect books of his favourite authors.

Which is why fans were a bit shocked when they landed on a clip from an old interview of his. In it, Saif was asked about his opinion on poetry, but his reactions isn't something you'd expect.

"Faiz and Ghalib... I am talking totally rubbish. Meri dadi padti thi, mere abba padte the. Ye koi umar hai in cheezon ko padne ka (My grandmother and my dad used to read them. Is this my age to read such things)?" he says in the interview with a laugh.

Fans wrote in the comment section that they cannot believe how much he has changed over the years. "There should be a case study of Saif before and after 2000. Ye banda alag level par hai abhi," read a comment. "Hahaha the way he laughs in the end.. today he is known to be one avid reader," wrote another. "Saif being so candid," another person said.

Saif's mother Sharmila Tagore recently revealed that his father, late cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi was indeed a Ghalib lover. So much, that he would even pass off his poems as his own.

"Tiger told me 'I have written this for you'. He used to sing, play the flute - Chaudvi Ka Chand, Dil Jalta Hai Toh Jalne Do, etc. He was a Begum Akhtar and Talat Mehmood fan. So, once he told me he had written this (poem) and I thought may be he had- Dil-e-Nadan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai," she said in a recent interview.

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"So next day I was shooting with Feroz (Khan) in this film called Safar. So I told him very proudly that Tiger had written this for me. And he said 'woman, this is Ghalib for God's sake,'" she added.

Saif has a large collection of books at his home with Kareena Kapoor now. Speaking to Hindustan Times, Saif revealed Leo Tolstoy, Umberto Eco and Salman Rushdie were his favourite writers and would recommend The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck to everyone.