Saif Ali Khan recalled his first bike ride with Kareena Kapoor on the show Kaun Banega Crorepati. He shared that she kept asking him to slow down during the trip. "So I think we liked each other, but she did not like the bike," he said about the funny moment.
Saif Ali Khan recalled his first bike ride with Kareena Kapoor, revealing how she kept asking him to slow down. "So I think we liked each other, but she did not like the bike," he said.
Love can make people do some rather unusual things, including stepping outside their comfort zones just to impress someone they like. From pretending to enjoy their favourite music to agreeing to activities that would otherwise make them nervous, the early stages of attraction can sometimes bring out a different side of us.
Actor Saif Ali Khan recently recalled a rather amusing example of this while appearing on the quiz-based reality show Kaun Banega Crorepati, hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. During the episode featuring Saif and Akshay Kumar, the actor shared the story of his first bike ride with his now-wife Kareena Kapoor Khan, revealing that while he thought it could bring them closer, she wasn't quite enjoying the experience.
Saif Ali Khan recalls his first bike ride with Kareena Kapoor
The anecdote came up when Amitabh introduced the topic, saying, "Ye ek cheez aur bata rahe hain hamare computer ji, about bike rides with Kareena." (There is one more thing our computer is telling us about bike rides with Kareena).
Responding to the host, Saif said, "Oh yes, Sir!" before taking everyone back to their initial days as co-stars.
"Shuru-shuru mein, Kareena aur main zyada baat nahi kar rahe the us waqt pe... just being polite co-stars," he recalled. Someone then suggested that he ask Kareena for a bike ride because she was fond of motorcycles. Saif was in Ladakh at the time, where he had hired a bike and would ride to the shooting location wearing headphones.
He eventually asked her, "Would you like to go on a bike ride?" To his surprise, Kareena agreed, saying, "Yes, I... you know, I would love to, I love bikes."
However, the ride turned out quite different from what Saif had imagined.
"So I took her on a little ride, and every two seconds,... she dug her nails into me and said, 'Stop, stop, stop, stop! Roko roko roko roko..." he recalled.
Kareena kept asking him to slow down, repeatedly telling him, "Stop, stop, not so fast, not so fast." Eventually, she admitted, "No, I hate bike rides."
Saif was understandably confused. "So I said, 'Then why are we on this bike?'" he recalled, adding that he began to wonder whether something else was behind her agreeing to the ride.
"So I think we liked each other, but she did not like the bike," he concluded.
Why do we try things we don't particularly enjoy to impress someone we like?
Saif and Kareena aren't alone in this playful flirting. People sometimes agree to things they wouldn't ordinarily consider when they have a crush. According to Dr Gopal Bhatia, consultant psychiatrist at Narayana Hospital, Ahmedabad, when we start liking someone, we naturally want to connect with them and seek their approval.
"This can make us want to do things we might not normally do. Psychologically, this is about wanting to be accepted, forming a bond, and managing how others see us," he tells Indian Express.
People may agree to try unfamiliar activities because they believe these experiences could help them find common ground with the person they are interested in.
"We might agree to try things because we think they could help us have something in common. It is usually a way of showing we care, looking for approval, and being ready to put in some work for someone we really like," Dr Bhatia adds.
Why do we sometimes pretend to enjoy something our crush loves?
This behaviour is particularly common in the early stages of attraction, when people are still figuring each other out. Dr Bhatia explained that shared experiences can feel more exciting when we like someone, making us more willing to try activities we might otherwise avoid.
"When we like someone, our brain makes shared experiences feel more exciting. This makes us want to try things," he said.
Sometimes, the desire to please the other person also comes from the fear of rejection or wanting to appear compatible. "Sometimes we also try to please others to avoid being rejected or to seem like a match," he explained.
However, Dr Bhatia pointed out that there is a difference between genuinely trying something new and pretending to enjoy it just to impress someone. "Good relationships let people say they are uncomfortable, without worrying about being judged or losing acceptance," he said.