From calling himself a ‘victim of nepotism’ to calling Indian award shows ‘a big tamasha’, Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has certainly been very vocal recently.
As per a report in HT, Saif revealed how he bought back his Haryana ancestral home, the Pataudi Palace for Rs. 800 crores from a hotel chain. He said that while he had a ‘privileged upbringing, there was no inheritance’ and he had to use the money that he earned from films to buy back the estate.
The Pataudi Palace, also known as Ibrahim Kothi, was leased to Neemrana Hotels to be operated as a luxury property. This happened after Saif’s father and famous cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi passed away, News18 reports. In the year 2014, Saif was given a chance to buy the palace back, but for ‘lots of money’.
Saif opened up saying, “People have a certain fixed notion. For that matter, even Pataudi, when my father died, it got rented to Neemrana Hotels. Aman [Nath] and Francis [Wacziarg] used to run [the hotel]. Francis passed away. He’d said that if I wanted [the palace] back, I could let him know. I said: ‘I want it back’. They held a conference, and said, ‘okay, you have to give us lots of money!’ Which I then consequently earned.”
He added, “So, even the house I’m supposed to have inherited has been earned back through money from films. You can’t live off the past. At least we can’t in our family, because there was nothing. There is history, culture, beautiful photographs; and, of course, some land. It has been a privileged upbringing. But there’s been no inheritance.”
According to TOI, the Pataudi Palace is spread over 10 acres boasts of approximately 150 rooms. This includes 7 bedrooms, 7 dressing rooms, and 7 billiard rooms along with several palatial drawing and dining rooms. Movies like ‘Eat Pray Love’, ‘Mangal Pandey’, ‘Veer Zara’, ‘Gandhi: My father’ and ‘Mere Brother ki Dulhan’ have also been shot at this palace.
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Cover Image Source- Left