Ever since Saif Ali Khan reclaimed ownership of his ancestral home, the Pataudi Palace, there has been buzz around his plans to turn a portion of it into a museum to put spotlight on the history of his family. However, the actor has shunned these speculations, saying his home holds a very special place in his heart. Also read: Soha Ali Khan reveals Saif Ali Khan does this to save costs at Pataudi Palace; Sharmila Tagore keeps ‘hisaab kitaab’
The actor shared that his father has been buried here, and his desire is to restore it in the most authentic way.
Saif speaks
Talking about the historic value of the Pataudi Palace, Saif told India Today, “Heritage-wise, the house belongs to different people over time. My father was born a nawab, he was a nawab. He lived life on his terms, and he was the most amazing man. He said that times have changed, and he decided to rent the house out to a hotel… I remember my grandmother telling me, ‘Never do that’. It’s got a lot of history, and that’s something I take pride in.”
He added, “My grandparents are buried there, my father is buried there. It’s my family home. There are a lot of these old houses, we call them the darbar halls, but I find that an outdated name. I want to call it the long room, after the hall at Lord’s. This house was built by the seventh nawab of Pataudi and my father. I want to put up their cricket places and bats, and I really want to restore this house with their spirit. That’s been my dream, and it’s almost done.”
Some time back, in an interview with Cyrus Broacha on the Housing.com YouTube channel, his sister Soha Ali Khan mentioned that their mother, Sharmila Tagore, oversees the household accounts, ensuring everything is in order.
“My mother sits with her hisaab-kitaab; she knows daily expenditure and monthly expenditure. For example, we whitewash Pataudi, it’s not painted because it’s a lot less expensive. And we haven’t bought anything new for a long time. It’s the architecture of the place that’s most inviting; it’s not the things, it’s not the objects,” she said.
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About Pataudi Palace
Pataudi Palace is currently owned by Saif, who is married to actor Kareena Kapoor. It belonged to his father, late cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan before him. However, after a hotel company took over the property, Saif decided to buy it back with his own money. It was constructed by Saif’s grandfather, the Nawab of Pataudi, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi. Currently, Saif’s mother, actor Sharmila Tagore lives there.
The estate is also known as Ibrahim Kothi and is situated in the town of Pataudi in Haryana’s Gurgaon district. The palace is known for its royal and opulent interiors. It is spread across 10 acres and has 150 rooms, including seven dressing rooms, seven bedrooms, seven billiard rooms, as well as palatial drawing rooms and dining rooms.
The family now uses it as a vacation home, and rents it out to film productions to shoot in. The recent film Animal, and Saif’s own streaming series Tandav, were filmed at the iconic property.
