Saif Ali Khan reclaimed ownership of his ancestral home, the Pataudi Palace, some years ago. The property was leased out to a hotel chain by his father, the late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Now, Saif is again
the custodian of the Rs 1200 crore home. But do you know how much of that property belongs to his younger sister, Soha Ali Khan? The actress only owns a 2 BHK apartment that used to be the generator room.
During a recent chat with Zoom, Soha Ali Khan revealed, “I have what was the generator room. But luckily, for a short period of time, there was a hotel that was managing the Pataudi palace. My parents moved into the generator room, converted it into what, I think, is actually a very nice property, and now that’s mine.”
When asked if she ever questioned why Saif was given more, she said, “The things that were relevant to my life were not crowns or thrones. It was just the things that I wanted to do, and never was I told that you want to do this.”
She added, “Never was there an expectation that the son would drink milk first and daughters would serve them food before eating themselves. I was never told not to play outside because you will become dark or that girls should behave like this, wear clothes like this. None of that.”
“Even though my father was from an aristocratic Muslim background, he was a forward thinker and very progressive. I think all of that helped me to just have that confidence, to believe that anything I wanted to do, was possible. That I should just work hard at it. There were no systemic barriers. There was nothing preventing me from thinking,” she said.
“I was aware of the law of primogeniture; I am aware of Muslim law. I am aware now that there’s a lot of things whereby you can circumvent that as well. You can leave a will and say that this is what I want to go to my children in equal,” Soha Ali Khan mentioned.
Meanwhile, Saif Ali Khan is transforming a section of the property into an archive to highlight his ancestors’ achievements. Saif Ali Khan is the sole owner of the Palace and doesn’t share ownership with his sisters, Saba and Soha. This is because he was born a ‘nawab’ before the privy purses were abolished.
