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Even Nawabs run out of money to build their dream palace. Actor Soha Ali Khan has revealed a funny anecdote about her ancestral home, the Pataudi Palace, which was built by her grandfather to impress his father-in-law. The Palace, situated in Haryana, was built by the last ruling nawab of Pataudi, Iftikhar Ali Khan.
During a chat with Cyrus Broacha on the Housing.com YouTube channel, Soha revealed that her grandmother, Sajida Sultan, was the begum of Bhopal, and her grandfather was the nawab of Pataudi. He loved her for many years but hadn’t been allowed to marry her by her father. “The Pataudi Palace was built to impress his father-in-law.” She said that because her grandfather was a keen sportsperson, her grandmother’s father was slightly jealous of him.
Soha added, “He built it in 1935 so that they could get married. He wanted to impress his father-in-law but halfway through building it, he ran out of money! So when you go there, you will see there are lots of carpets and some of them have marble floors underneath, but a lot of them have just normal cement, because he ran out of money.”
The actor said she was born much after the privy purses and royal titles were abolished (1971) but her actor brother Saif Ali Khan, was born a prince, because he was born in 1970. “So, technically, I am not so royal. But with the titles come a lot of responsibility and maintenance bills.”
The palace is located in Pataudi, Haryana, and is exquisitely decorated with portraits of the late Masoor Ali Khan Pataudi. (Photo: Express Archives)
Saif Ali Khan with Kareena Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor at Pataudi Palace (Photo: Karisma Kapoor/ Instagram)
The palace was later passed down to Mansoor Ali Khan, and is currently owned by Saif Ali Khan, with the family serving as its caretakers. Soha said she has a “spacious” generator room–an equivalent of a two-BHK–that belongs to her on the palace grounds. In the same interview, Soha said that her mother, Sharmila Tagore, oversees the expenses of running the property, and said that Saif saves money buy having the palace whitewashed instead of painted.
In an earlier interview Saif Ali Khan had revealed that his father leased out the Pataudi Palace out to a hotel chain, and when the lease was up, the family made an effort to regain control of the property. “My mother (Sharmila Tagore) has a cottage there and she was always very comfortable. It was a fair financial arrangement and contrary to reports, I did not have to buy it back because I already owned it,” Saif said.
Saif often spends time with his family at the Pataudi Palace, which is also used to for film shoots. Last year’s blockbuster Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor, was shot there.
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