In the first interview after the attack to us, Saif Ali Khan has shared how Kareena and the kids are holding up, and Amma Sharmila Tagore’s protective parental instinct. Excerpts:
THE WALK BACK TO NORMALCY
You had a very lucky day, basically.
It’s beyond. I don’t know what it is. It feels like incredibly lucky. A friend of mine said – ‘Let’s say, you were forced to roll a deadly dice. And you rolled a six.’ I think that’s a good way of putting it because I didn’t want to roll this dice. But it’s like you roll any other number and you’re dead.
But when you walk out of the hospital that casually, it doesn’t look like you had a brush with death.
The instinct was that I’d like to walk out of the hospital. I had walked in also, and I’d like to walk out on my own, and it wasn’t to show off or anything. It was just not to be alarmist and like my father (used to say) –‘let’s just kind of underplay it a bit’.
I never thought about how to present it. The more I consider the PR aspect of it, I’ve come to the conclusion that I think my life is pretty interesting for actually what it is, it doesn’t need a twist. It doesn’t need to be twisted and presented.
So, my thing is that it’s not an exaggerated injury. It’s a miraculous survival. Walking around after that, it’s still painful to stand for too long. The aches and pains are there, but they’re getting better every day. And I think it will be a complete recovery.
How has the family reacted?
The kids are okay, thank God. Jeh has given me a plastic sword, and said, ‘Keep this by your bed for the next time the chor comes’. He says, ‘Geeta saved Abba and Abba saved me.’
Taimur is a little concerned about security. Sara was very emotional and Ibrahim was also very emotional, more than he obviously normally is. He was there and has been spending a lot of time with me.
It’s been really kind of nice for the family to come together (laughs), but also obviously, a bit of a shock for everyone.
How’s Kareena holding up?
She’s doing very, very well. Being very strong. Naturally, a bit shaken and concerned about things like security and that something like this should not happen again.
Did you get a lecture from Amma?
(Laughs) Well, no, she was firstly, very supportive about Taimur being there. I thought she’d be more annoyed about that. But she said – ‘No, what you thought was right and you’ve exposed him in such a different way to so many things’ – that I mean he’s a different kind of kid.
She also completely understood the protective parental instinct. I remember her telling me when I was young that ‘I’ll get in the way if someone ever tries to hurt you’. It had an impact on me. So I guess it’s every parent’s instinct.
And she was very protective. The doctors were worried that there shouldn’t be any secondary infection. So she was making sure everyone wore a mask, including the doctors. So there was a bit of fear of the mother (laughs). She was also very nice. She held my hand and sang me a song, and it was very soothing.
Which one?
I can’t remember. It was a lullaby. That hasn’t happened since I was a baby!
For full interview, click: