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Actor Saif Ali Khan opened up about being the custodian of his ancestral home, the Pataudi Palace, and said that he is very proud his family heritage. When the opportunity arose for him to reclaim ownership of the palace, he said, he grabbed it with both hands. The palace had been leased out to a hotel chain by his father, the late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and Saif managed to regain control of its operations some years ago. In an interview, he joked that as a child, his father made it clear to him that he doesn’t stand to inherit anything.
In an interview with India Today, Saif said that growing up, he was given Rs 2,000 per week as an allowance by his father, who assured him that this amount would be increased to Rs 20,000 when he comes of age. But living off his parents’ wealth was never an option, he said. “My father told me, ‘Don’t expect any kind of financial inheritance, the world has changed. What I’ll give you is a good education. I’ll pay for that, but besides that, you’re on your own’.”
In the same interview, he said that he is in the process of renovating the palace and transforming a portion of it into a kind of museum for the achievements of his father and grandfather. “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 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.”
Saif Ali Khan at the Pataudi Palace.
He said that after he regained control of the palace, he set about having it restored. “My grandparents are buried there, my father is buried there. It’s my family home. There are lot of these old houses, we call them the darbar halls, but I find that an outdated name.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,” he said.
The Pataudi Palace in Haryana. (Photo: Myntra/YouTube)
In a recent interview, Saif’s sister, Soha Ali Khan, said that he is the sole owner of the property, because he was born a ‘nawab’ before privy purses were abolished. He continues to oversee the palace’s upkeep, which Soha said costs a lot of money. She also spoke about the history of the palace, and said that her grandfather built it to impress his father-in-law. The palace is now leased out to film productions as a shooting location.
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