Mumbai, Feb. 18: Saif Ali Khan was rushed to hospital with chest pain tonight while the actor was on his way to an awards event where he was declared the best villain for his performance in Omkara.

“Saif Ali Khan has been admitted for some tests,” said Pravin Mhatre, chief administrator of Lilavati Hospital, the usual port of call for celebrities in need of medical attention.

Sources said the 36-year-old actor underwent angiography and his condition is stable. Some television channels said a clot was removed.

“He is being made to go through some preventive treatment and medical tests as he came here with complaint of discomfort in the chest. It is what we do routinely in such cases. He is not in any danger,” said a senior doctor attached to the hospital.

If there is no other complication, he could be discharged in two days, the sources said.

“All the tests have been clear and an angiography has been done. He had some chest pain and admitted himself to the hospital to make sure that everything was fine,” Soha Ali Khan, Saif’s sister, said.

A close friend of Saif, who was with the actor when the pain began, said: “Saif had finished a strenuous round of stage rehearsals for the Stardust Awards ceremony. When he came backstage, he said he was feeling uncomfortable. But we had to get to the awards event and got into the car. When he complained of chest pain, we spoke to Soha and rushed him to Lilavati Hospital.”

Soha was the first to reach the hospital, followed by Saif’s companion Rosa. Saif’s mother Sharmila Tagore, too, reached Mumbai from Delhi. Sharmila and Saif share screen-space for the first time in Eklavya, which released last Friday.

The hospital drew a steady stream of film personalities, including Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Sanjay Dutt, Kunal Kohli and Pradeep Sarkar.

Some of them were at the Stardust awards event and were initially unaware of Saif’s hospitalisation. When Saif’s name was called out for and he did not turn up, Omkara director Vishal Bharadwaj stood in for the actor.

In the dark about Saif’s condition, Bharadwaj joked while receiving the actor’s award: “Saif, I know you are always late for shooting but I didn’t know you would be late for an award function as well. Where are you?”

Stardust editor Sonali Zafar said Saif had returned from South Africa last night. He started rehearsing the dance at 2 am today and again practised for three hours from 2 pm.