I Have Privilege, But No Inheritance: Saif Ali Khan On How He Earned Back Pataudi Palace

Saif Ali Khan made us love 90s Bollywood with films like Hum Saath Saath Hain and Main Khiladi Tu Anari but, it was his later hits like Hum Tum, Kal Ho Na Ho, Dil Chahta Hai, and Salaam Namaste that made us truly go gaga over the star. However, even though his work speaks for itself, he is time and again known only for his title ‘Nawab’. 

Talking about the same, Saif Ali Khan opened up about his position and the Pataudi Palace that has been in his family for generations. In an interview with a media daily, he said, “People have a certain fixed notion. For that matter, even (with) Pataudi (palace), when my father (Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi) died, it got rented to Neemrana Hotels. Aman (Nath) and Francis (Wacziarg) used to run (the hotel). Francis passed away. He’d said that if I wanted (the palace) back, I could let him know. I said: ‘I want it back’. They held a conference, and said, ‘okay, you have to give us lots of money!’ Which I then consequently earned.”

He even added, “So, even the house I’m supposed to have inherited has been earned back through money from films. You can’t live off the past. At least we can’t in our family, because there was nothing. There is history, culture, beautiful photographs; and, of course, some land. It has been a privileged upbringing. But there’s been no inheritance.”

Saif and wifey Kareena often spend their holidays at the palace with their family. Whenever we see pictures of baby Taimur, we see him riding horses, playing in gardens and getting cuddles from his mom and dad. He sure loves being outdoors there. 

GQ

The Sacred Games actor even reminisced about his childhood. He opened up about his formative days, saying, “I was born and raised in Bombay. My father lived with my mother in her flat. He had just finished playing cricket. His last test series was when I was four/five. My mother says he was bunking his responsibilities. His mother was looking after things in Bhopal and Pataudi. She’d got old. So we moved to Delhi to live with her.”

Guess, there isn’t any replacement for hard work. Even the Nawab said it!

Image Source: Instagram, GQ

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