The Pataudi Palace, situated in Pataudi town of Gurgaon district in Haryana, is spread across 10 acres and has 150 rooms. The palace, also known as Ibrahim Kothi, was passed on from the last ruling Nawab, Iftikhar Ali Khan, to his son, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. It is now held by actor, Saif Ali Khan and his mother, Sharmila Tagore.
In a recent interaction with the India Today Conclave, Saif Ali Khan talked about Pataudi Palace and revealed that he plans to restore it to make it a museum. He revealed how his father rented out the palace to a hotel, and his grandmother was against it. Stating how his grandmother forbade him from turning Pataudi palace into a hotel, Saif recalled:
“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 he 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 is the sole owner of the Palace and doesn’t share ownership with his sisters, Saba and Soha because after he was born, the privy purses were abolished. In the same interaction, Saif Ali Khan also revealed his plans to restore Pataudi Palace and said:
“My grandparents are buried there, my father is buried there. It’s my family home. There are a lot of these old houses, we call them the darbar halls, but I find that an outdated name.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.”
The Pataudi Palace was built by Saif Ali Khan’s grandfather for his grandmother and is over a hundred years old. After his grandfather’s death, Saif’s father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi leased it out to Neemrana Hotels. Since Saif was emotionally attached to the palace, he bought it back from the hotel chain company.
In an interview with the Mid-Day, Saif revealed that he earned back the Pataudi palace, which was supposed to be inherited. Elaborating more about the same, the actor stated:
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“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. 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.”
What do you think about Saif Ali Khan’s idea of turning the Pataudi Palace into a museum? Let us know.
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