BY JYOTHSNA HEGDE
Photos by Vinod Devlia, Photography by Vinod
Atlanta, GA, October 10, 2019: The Nawab of Bollywood had some jawabs for Atlanta fans in an easy breezy conversational show, ‘Power of One: The Nawab Story’ on August 31, 2019 at the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth. Hosted by the high-spirited Javed Jaffrey, Saif Ali Khan was at his casual best, talking about his life’s journey and engaging the audience with everything from playing the guitar, singing happy birthday to an audience member upon request and taking questions from the crowd. The show was a presentation of Anand Entertainment, Prosperous Entertainment, Walia Hospitality Group, Go Dreamz, Inc, and DJ VJ.
Archith Seshadri and Ayshwarya Sridharan anchored the night with vigor and energy. Effervescent dance performance by Prem Rahman and students of Prem’s dance studio added to the vibrancy. An apt fashion show by Royal Indian Closet had models displaying their exquisite collection fit for royalty, choreographed by Rachita, Swati Takur, and Hetal Mehta.
Kicking off with a comedy act with a focus on the Indian diaspora, Jaffery was in his element as he mimicked various accents and actors effortlessly and quite effectively.
“Yes. Sartaj Singh will save the world at the end of season 2,” declared Saif Ali Khan who reprises the role of inspector Sartaj Singh in his highly popular Netflix show Sacred Games, nominated for International Emmy Awards. Based on Vikram Chandra’s 2006 novel, the story unravels the foaming nexus between Mumbai’s police, politicians, gangsters and the film industry through narratives of Singh and his partner Gaitonde.
“I have never been in the rat race,” said Khan about his recent success which came after quite a few failures at the box office including Rangoon, Chef, Kalakaandi, to name a few.
Born with a silver spoon, Khan said he was never under any pressure to be either a famous cricketer like his legendary dad, Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, or popular actress of her times, Sharmila Tagore. “I was quite spoilt,” admitted Khan about being sent to the some of the most prestigious institutions including The Lawrence School, Sanawar in Himachal Pradesh, Lockers Park School in Hertfordshire and eventually to Winchester College in England. “I was not academically inclined. I discovered girls and soon lost interest in academics,” he quipped.
“My parents had done an ad for Gwalior Suiting and the makers asked if I would be interested,” said Khan about his first step to glamour world. He was subsequently cast by director Anand Mahindroo, but the project eventually got cancelled and Khan relocated to Mumbai to pursue a career in the film industry. “My father said, I’m not giving you any money. Be on your own. I was excited about staying in my own place and enjoying the adventure of starting my own career,” said Khan.
“I was told to break up with my girlfriend, but I lied, got caught and even thrown out of a film,” admitted Khan.
“Amrita taught me to take work seriously,” said Khan, about Amrita Singh, his first wife, whom he secretly married, having proposed in dramatic Bollywood style, as he described it, complete with cutting of the thumb. “Kids (Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim) are sorted because of her,” he admitted, adding that he wrote a letter to Amrita on the day of his second wedding to popular actress Kareena Kapoor, and that Kareena was supportive about his gesture.
Candid and composed, Khan traced his life’s curve from being born into royalty to legendary parents to carving his own niche in the world of movies, having won National awards and a Padma Shri.
Being a dad to heartthrob, Sara Ali Khan, and an already popular face in the media, Taimur Ali Khan, while being married to the gorgeous Kareena Kapoor, and with the latest success of his web series, Saif Ali Khan sure seems like a Nawab, in more ways than one.
