![\"EXCLUSIVE!](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-118093680,imgsize-69536,width-400,resizemode-4\/118093680.jpg\" "\\"'We")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWas this a \u2018real\u2019 attack? How can someone get into a celeb\u2019s house like that? Why would he need an autorickshaw? Did he really go with Taimur? What, there was a knife stuck in his back and he was still coherent? Arey, if he was injured so badly, how is he walking out like that from the hospital, waving?
Saif Ali Khan got support and sympathy, for sure, but as often happens with him, he got more than his fair share of questions, doubts and scrutiny even after fighting an intruder, getting stabbed, and undergoing extensive surgery. In his first interview after the attack, Saif thanks his well-wishers and also answers the cynics, in his trademark style \u2013 with a straight bat. Excerpts:<\/p>\n
THE INCIDENT<\/b><\/p>\n
What happened that night?<\/b><\/p>\n
Kareena had been out to dinner, and I had some work in the morning, so I stayed in. She came back, we had a chat and went to sleep. After a while, the househelp rushed in and said \u2013 \u2018There\u2019s an intruder! There\u2019s a guy in Jeh\u2019s room with a knife asking for money!\u2019 It was around 2am, I could get the time wrong slightly, but it was late…
Obviously, I kind of lost it, and went in there to see and I saw this guy holding (what I thought were) two sticks over Jeh\u2019s bed \u2013 it was actually a hexa blade. So he had a knife in each hand and a mask on. It was a surreal scene. And something just kind of took over and I just grabbed him. I ran and pulled him down, and then we were wrestling. He was thumping me as hard as he could in my back, and it was just thuds. I thought it was…<\/p>\n
![\"Saif](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/imgsize-23456,msid-118093698,width-600,resizemode-4\/118093698.jpg\" "\\"'I")
<\/p>\n‘I saw this guy holding (what I thought were) two sticks over Jeh\u2019s bed \u2013 it was actually a hexa blade’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
You didn\u2019t realise it was a knife?<\/b><\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t. It didn\u2019t really hurt because there\u2019s too much of adrenaline and shock at that moment. And then he was slashing at my neck, and I was blocking it with my hand. There were slashes to my palm and my wrist and arm. There was all this violence \u2013 slashing with both hands, most of which was kind of defended. And yeah, I fought with him, but I couldn\u2019t handle it after a while because there were these two knives in action. And I was just barefoot, bare-handed in a kurta pajama.
And I was just praying that someone could get this guy off me at this point. And my incredibly lovely househelp (Geeta) pulled him off me and shoved him away. And we both kind of rolled away, and closed the door. And at this point I was covered in blood, and I lost some feeling in my right leg. This was because I had been nicked in the spine, but I didn\u2019t realise that at the time \u2013 I thought I\u2019d been stabbed in the leg. I went upstairs to try and find something to fight this guy. Kareena, in the meantime, had taken Jeh out and gone to Tim\u2019s room.
She had taken him out while you were still grappling with the intruder?
Yes. While this fight happened, Jeh was taken out. I remember Kareena screaming \u2018Take the kid out!\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"Saif:](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/imgsize-23456,msid-118093733,width-600,resizemode-4\/118093733.jpg\" "\\"Saif:")
<\/p>\nSaif: I fought with him, but I couldn\u2019t handle it after a while because there were these two knives in action<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Jeh was sleeping all this while?<\/b><\/p>\n
He had woken up, and seen some of it. I don\u2019t know, you know because I was busy (laughs). And then we all gathered upstairs.<\/p>\n
The intruder had escaped by then?<\/b><\/p>\n
Geeta had held the door shut from outside \u2013 so we thought he was locked inside. But he escaped the way he came \u2013 though we didn\u2019t know that. He had gone the way he came in \u2013 which was up a drainpipe into the kids\u2019 bathroom. I don\u2019t think he knew where he was.
And we all headed downstairs. It was a filmi scene where I was covered in blood and we took two decorative swords off the wall. And that\u2019s what Taimur saw \u2013 me covered in blood and Hari, the other house help, holding two swords. So, it was vaguely heroic, at least that moment (laughs). We said \u2013 \u2018let\u2019s get him\u2019. And Kareena said \u2013 \u2018No, let\u2019s get out! Because we\u2019ve got to get you to a hospital, and I\u2019ve got to get Jeh out of here because I feel he\u2019s (the intruder) still around, and there could be more of them.\u2019
So then we all went downstairs. Kareena was shouting for a rickshaw, or a cab, or anything. I said, I kind of feel some pain. There\u2019s something wrong with my back. She said \u2013 you go to the hospital and I\u2019ll go to my sister\u2019s house. She was making calls frantically \u2013 but nobody was up. And we looked at each other, and I said, \u2018I\u2019m fine. I\u2019m not going to die.\u2019
And Taimur also asked me \u2013 \u2018Are you going to die?\u2019 I said, \u2018No.\u2019<\/p>\n
Was Taimur composed?<\/b><\/p>\n
He was absolutely composed. He was fine. He said, \u2018I\u2019m coming with you.\u2019 And I thought, if something happens… I was getting a lot of comfort just from looking at him at that time. And I didn\u2019t want to go alone.
My wife sent him knowing what he would do for me. Maybe it wasn\u2019t… at the moment, it was the right thing to do. I felt good about it. And I also thought, if God forbid, something happens, I\u2019d like for him to be there. And he wanted to be there also. So, we went \u2013 him, me and Hari \u2013 in the rickshaw.
The rickshaw guy saw the blood and he knew something had happened. But I think because of the kid, he kind of gave the whole thing some respectability. He saw that we were decent people, somehow. I don\u2019t know how. And he was so amazing \u2013 he took a shortcut and took it easy on bumps. He drove me to Lilavati.<\/p>\n
THE HOSPITAL<\/b><\/p>\n
Did you actually walk into the hospital the way the doctor described \u2013 covered in blood and with Taimur by your side?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes! (Laughs) We just walked into that emergency room. I\u2019ve been there before a couple of times, so I knew my way around. It took them a minute to understand that there\u2019s a celebrity involved and this is a slightly bizarre, absurd scenario. Just took a minute to sink in, you know, that a movie star has been stabbed.
I had a lot of clarity and adrenaline. They brought a wheelchair and I said, no, I don\u2019t think a wheelchair is good idea, get me a stretcher. And I pointed at my face and said \u2013 \u2018I\u2019m Saif Ali Khan\u2019 (laughs). They did a double take \u2013 and then all hell broke loose.
They were very efficient after that. There was a doctor on duty in his blue scrubs and he took some right decisions. Then the head of the hospital came. I really wanted to go to the loo and they said, we\u2019ll give you a catheter. I said, no, no, I\u2019ll walk. They couldn\u2019t believe that I could walk, because they had had a look at the back by then.
Then they said, we have to do an MRI. They looked at my hands, my neck and said it\u2019s all slashed up, but the back is the main issue. So they did the MRI, and somebody took the right call and said, let\u2019s call a spinal neurosurgeon. That was a great move. Dr Dange (Dr Nitin Dange), who had just gone to bed at 2am or something \u2013 somebody rang him up, and he rushed to the hospital.<\/p>\n
![\"'It\u2019s](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/imgsize-23456,msid-118093864,width-600,resizemode-4\/118093864.jpg\" "\\"'It\u2019s")
<\/p>\n‘It\u2019s not possible to cut somebody\u2019s neck the way my neck is cut, and not kill them’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
They said a good three-four inches of the knife has gone in behind the shoulder blade and has worked its way right to the bloody spinal cord. It\u2019s a massive stab and it\u2019s broken off, and it\u2019s nicked the cover of the spinal cord. And there\u2019s spinal fluid leaking out, which is why the feeling in the leg was going. That\u2019s how close it came: Just one more millimetre and we\u2019d be talking paralysis. It\u2019s not like, you know, a back spasm or something that we\u2019re underplaying.
And the doctors did a phenomenal job. It was a major surgery. It took six hours \u2013 the spinal thing alone took 2.5 hours. I was under anaesthesia for like five hours or something. It\u2019s pretty big, that\u2019s the longest I\u2019ve ever been in a surgery.<\/p>\n
When did you begin to sort of understand that this is serious? When did you first hear about this \u2018one millimetre short of paralysis\u2019?<\/b><\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t tell me initially. They said \u2013 there is a foreign body in your back, and we need to get rid of that. I could walk and everything. So I didn\u2019t think it\u2019s very serious.
Then later on, the doctor told me in instalments. He said, \u2018Listen, you have lost spinal fluid.\u2019 And there\u2019s still some numbness in my thigh. And two days later, he told me why. He said, \u2018I\u2019ve moved all your nerves around.\u2019
It\u2019s been an incredible, like pain-free recovery apart from some muscular ache, which I\u2019m still experiencing.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what gives rise to conspiracy theories that, he was this close to paralysis, how is he then strolling around like this?<\/b><\/p>\n
Close is close. You\u2019re either paralysed or you\u2019re not. That\u2019s how life is, right? I mean \u2013 you\u2019re either hurt or not hurt. There\u2019s 25 stitches here and there\u2019s 30 stitches there. If you start with the two slashes on my palm and my arm \u2013 they had both not even cut a tendon. They could have cut the artery and the wrist and the veins, they could have cut… It\u2019s just a miracle that my hands and my fingers are working fine. A guy cuts himself in the palm in the kitchen and then he can\u2019t move his little finger for the rest of his life, you know.
So that\u2019s a miracle. I have like 30 most awful scars running down my neck. I don\u2019t understand how he missed my carotid artery and jugular vein\u2026 it\u2019s not possible to cut somebody\u2019s neck the way my neck is cut, and not kill them.<\/p>\n
THE COMMENTARY<\/b><\/p>\n
There has been some degree of chatter about how come nobody drives? Why did it take him two hours to reach the hospital?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes, the question was what was he doing for 1.5 hours with a knife in his back? Absolutely not. I went downstairs and out. The first rickshaw was me going to a hospital, and then these guys went to Karisma\u2019s house. There was no lag.<\/p>\n
And people on social media asking \u2013 arey, such rich people, no driver at home at night?<\/b><\/p>\n
Nobody stays here all night. Everyone has a home to go to. We have some people staying in the house, but not the drivers. Unless you are going out at night or there\u2019s something needed, then you tell them to stay on.
I would have driven if I could have found the keys. Luckily, I didn\u2019t. I probably should not have wiggled my back much. I\u2019d have driven. I was completely lucid.<\/p>\n
And you could not have just called the driver at 3am?<\/b><\/p>\n
But he could have taken time to come, na? I knew I had to go to the hospital pretty soon.<\/p>\n
\u2018Was he acting?\u2019 \u2018Garbage\u2019 \u2013 Any responses for this sort of language being used after the attack?<\/b><\/p>\n
I think it is expected that there will be all kinds of reactions to something like this. There will be people ridiculing it. There will be people not believing it, people making fun of it. And I think that\u2019s fine because it is what gives colour to the world. If everyone had a sympathetic reaction to something, it would be flat and dull. And I expected it, then there is no need to react to it.
And the thing that became clear to me is that there is so much kindness also in the world. There\u2019s so many wonderful people who know how to make you feel better by saying supportive things. From the ward boys and the doctors to the rickshaw driver, they were all just angels, heaven-sent. There is a lot of kindness in the world and a fair amount of stupidity also. But that\u2019s what makes it interesting.<\/p>\n
![\"Saif](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/imgsize-23456,msid-118094092,width-600,resizemode-4\/118094092.jpg\" "\\"Saif")
<\/p>\nSaif with auto driver Bhajan Singh Rana <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
THE WALK BACK TO NORMALCY<\/b><\/p>\n
You had a very lucky day, basically.<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s beyond. I don\u2019t know what it is. It feels like incredibly lucky. A friend of mine said \u2013 \u2018Let\u2019s say, you were forced to roll a deadly dice. And you rolled a six.\u2019 I think that\u2019s a good way of putting it because I didn\u2019t want to roll this dice. But it\u2019s like you roll any other number and you\u2019re dead.
But when you walk out of the hospital that casually, it doesn\u2019t look like you had a brush with death.
The instinct was that I\u2019d like to walk out of the hospital. I had walked in also, and I\u2019d like to walk out on my own, and it wasn\u2019t to show off or anything. It was just not to be alarmist and like my father (used to say) \u2013\u2018let\u2019s just kind of underplay it a bit\u2019.
I never thought about how to present it. The more I consider the PR aspect of it, I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that I think my life is pretty interesting for actually what it is, it doesn\u2019t need a twist. It doesn\u2019t need to be twisted and presented.
So, my thing is that it\u2019s not an exaggerated injury. It\u2019s a miraculous survival. Walking around after that, it\u2019s still painful to stand for too long. The aches and pains are there, but they\u2019re getting better every day. And I think it will be a complete recovery.<\/p>\n
How has the family reacted?<\/b><\/p>\n
The kids are okay, thank God. Jeh has given me a plastic sword, and said, \u2018Keep this by your bed for the next time the chor comes\u2019. He says, \u2018Geeta saved Abba and Abba saved me.\u2019
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\u2019s been really kind of nice for the family to come together (laughs), but also obviously, a bit of a shock for everyone.<\/p>\n
How\u2019s Kareena holding up?<\/b><\/p>\n
She\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Does living in Mumbai, or the society you are in, feel unsafe to you now?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never believed in security. People were saying, \u2018Why don\u2019t they have more security?\u2019 I\u2019ve never believed in security. I don\u2019t want it. I never wanted to walk around with three of these guys. I think it would be a nightmare for me. And I still won\u2019t, because I don\u2019t think this is an attack on me. I\u2019m not under threat.
None of us are under any kind of threat. This is a mistake that happened. I firmly believe a guy climbed up a drainpipe and squeezed through a hole and arrived in our house. I don\u2019t think he knew whose house it was. It\u2019s not an inside job. It\u2019s none of these things. And the police have done a fantastic job.
I feel very safe in Mumbai. I think it\u2019s a completely safe city, but yeah, we hear about stuff like this. Like in every other place in the world, whether it\u2019s New York or London or Paris, you have to lock the doors properly and you\u2019ve got to lock the windows. You can\u2019t tempt fate. You can\u2019t leave stuff open. I mean, it\u2019s not some village in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
What I am getting from you is that there is no massive sense of a rebooting of life or paranoia. This is not a Monica Seles moment where an assailant with a knife changes your life\u2019s trajectory?<\/b><\/p>\n
No. It\u2019s not going to change my life and it shouldn\u2019t, because that would be… it would be wrong because, I mean, this is not one of those scenarios. This is somebody who is trying to steal something because of desperation.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s talk about this \u2018somebody\u2019. What does the family feel about him? What do you feel?<\/b><\/p>\n
Taimur said that he should be forgiven because he believed that the guy was hungry. I also believe I would have forgiven him. I feel bad for him \u2013 till where that knife comes in and my spine comes in and the fact that he tried to kill me (laughs). That\u2019s where I stopped feeling bad for him. I understand why he did it. But he crossed the line when he went mad on me.
I don\u2019t blame society and I don\u2019t blame the police or Mumbai or anything. I blame myself for not locking that area properly. But I didn\u2019t believe this would happen. I didn\u2019t believe that this kind of thing would happen to us.
This could have gone anywhere.
It\u2019s the best possible outcome \u2013 apart from not getting stabbed at all (laughs). I used to have a gun also. Luckily, I don\u2019t have that. I don\u2019t know what would have happened.<\/p>\n
Why don\u2019t you have a gun?<\/b><\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t believe in that anymore. I thought some kid will get hold of it, and then there\u2019ll be other problems.
I mean there are guns around at Pataudi. All the people who have guns \u2013 Rajwaras and the Rajasthanis \u2013 have been messaging me that they can\u2019t believe that guy got away with it.
My father used to sleep with a shotgun by his bed. But sometimes, I believe accidents happen because there was a gun. Young kids would definitely play with it or God knows what can happen.<\/p>\n
So, you haven\u2019t kept any weapons in the Mumbai home?<\/b><\/p>\n
No, there are no weapons. There are some talvars which are ceremonial and decorative. Some people are now like, you should have protection with you at all times. The world is not safe. Sleep with a gun.<\/p>\n
But you still won\u2019t?<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think so. Nothing will change. See, if you start doing that… because I don\u2019t feel I\u2019m under threat. It was not a premeditated attack. I think it just was a burglary attempt gone wrong. That poor guy, his life is more screwed than mine.
So, very cliched question, but if you had to enter that room again, would you have done anything differently?
I would put on the light and firstly tell him, \u2018Do you know who I am?\u2019 (Laughs) And I think he would say, \u2018Oh shit! I\u2019m in the wrong house.\u2019 And I\u2019d say \u2018Right, put the knife down and let\u2019s talk about this\u2019. I think I would have tried to reason. But it was a mixture of anger, outrage and a kind of defense. I don\u2019t know. It was just… it was too quick. And it was completely instinctive.
I\u2019ll tell you something funny \u2013 when we were fighting, I hit him as hard as I could with my bare hand on the back of the head. And I thought to myself \u2013 that is the most ineffectual punch in the history of punches. This guy is gonna kill me because (he has) a weapon \u2013 two knives \u2013 and (I\u2019m) a barefooted, bare-handed man. I mean unless it\u2019s a good movie, there is just no contest there.<\/p>\n
![\"Amma](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/imgsize-23456,msid-118094071,width-600,resizemode-4\/118094071.jpg\" "\\"Amma")
<\/p>\nAmma was very protective: Saif<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Did you get a lecture from Amma?<\/b><\/p>\n
(Laughs) Well, no, she was firstly, very supportive about Taimur being there. I thought she\u2019d be more annoyed about that. But she said \u2013 \u2018No, what you thought was right and you\u2019ve exposed him in such a different way to so many things\u2019 \u2013 that I mean he\u2019s a different kind of kid.
She also completely understood the protective parental instinct. I remember her telling me when I was young that \u2018I\u2019ll get in the way if someone ever tries to hurt you\u2019. It had an impact on me. So I guess it\u2019s every parent\u2019s instinct.
And she was very protective. The doctors were worried that there shouldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Which one?<\/b><\/p>\n
I can\u2019t remember. It was a lullaby. That hasn\u2019t happened since I was a baby!<\/div>\n