Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan recently spoke at the Tiger Pataudi Memorial Lecture 2026 in Kolkata, honoring his father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Saif shared memories of his father's 'different brand of confidence,' where he rarely spoke up at dinners and gatherings, often leaving his mother Sharmila Tagore irritated.
Recalling his father as his 'hero,' Saif said, 'I knew him respectfully as Abba, a man of very few words who somehow said everything to us as a family that mattered.' He added that his father rarely discussed his achievements at home and would say, 'No one asked me,' but wouldn't speak because no one had asked him.
Saif also spoke about his father's contributions to Indian cricket, saying, 'He believed in belief, instilling self-belief in Indian players who had never before been told they could dominate world cricket.' He further shared that had his father been alive today, he would probably have been 'slightly embarrassed' by all the attention, but also 'quietly pleased' that the conversation remained about cricket, ideas and the future.
