Key facts
- Known for: Actor and film producer
- Born: 16 Aug 1970, New Delhi
- Age: 56 years (as of 12 Nov 2026)
- Spouse: Kareena Kapoor (m. 2012); earlier Amrita Singh (m. 1991, sep. 2004)
Son of Tiger Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore
Saif Ali Khan was born Sajid Ali Khan on 16 Aug 1970 in New Delhi, the eldest child of the former India cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan "Tiger" Pataudi and the actress Sharmila Tagore. His sisters are the jewellery designer Saba Ali Khan and the actress Soha Ali Khan. His grandfather, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, played Test cricket for both England and India, and his grandmother, Sajida Sultan, was the Begum of Bhopal.
He studied at The Lawrence School, Sanawar, then at Lockers Park School in Hertfordshire from the age of nine and later at Winchester College in England. Back in India he worked briefly for an advertising firm in Delhi, and a television commercial for Gwalior Suiting led to his first film offers.
The tenth Nawab of Pataudi
After his father died in September 2011, a symbolic pagri ceremony in Pataudi village, Haryana, named Saif the "tenth Nawab of Pataudi". The title has had no legal standing since 1971, when India abolished princely privileges, and Saif has said he attended the ceremony to respect local feeling. He owns and restored the family's Pataudi Palace, where many films have been shot.
Career milestones
- 1993
Debut in Parampara; Aashiq Awara
- 2001
Dil Chahta Hai
- 2004
Hum Tum; National Award
- 2010
Padma Shri
- 2011
Named titular Nawab of Pataudi
- 2012
Marries Kareena Kapoor
- 2018
Sacred Games on Netflix
- 2025
Survives knife attack at home
Early films and first marriage
He was cast in Bekhudi (1992) opposite Kajol but was dropped after the first schedule. During that shoot he met the actress Amrita Singh, 12 years his senior, and they married in October 1991. Their daughter, Sara, was born in 1995 and their son, Ibrahim, in 2001. They separated in 2004.
His debut was Yash Chopra's Parampara (1993), with Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna and Aamir Khan. It flopped, but Aashiq Awara the same year won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. Yeh Dillagi and Main Khiladi Tu Anari (both 1994) were hits, both with Akshay Kumar. After a run of failures, Kachche Dhaage and Hum Saath-Saath Hain (both 1999) put him back on track.
Dil Chahta Hai and the comeback decade
Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai (2001) changed his career. As Sameer, the goofy friend who keeps falling in love, he won a Filmfare comedy award and a new urban audience. Then came:
- Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003): India's biggest hit of the year, with Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta. Filmfare Best Supporting Actor.
- Ek Hasina Thi (2004): Sriram Raghavan's debut thriller, with Saif as a charming conman.
- Hum Tum (2004): his first solo hit as a romantic lead, opposite Rani Mukerji. It won him the National Film Award for Best Actor.
- Parineeta and Salaam Namaste (both 2005): two more hits that made him a top-rank star.
- Omkara (2006): the scheming Langda Tyagi, Vishal Bhardwaj's version of Iago, which won him Filmfare's Best Performance in a Negative Role.
Race (2008) and Love Aaj Kal (2009) were big hits. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 2010.
Producer: Illuminati Films
In 2007 he set up Illuminati Films with the producer Dinesh Vijan. Its first film, Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal (2009), with Deepika Padukone, was a hit, and the company went on to make Cocktail (2012) and Go Goa Gone (2013). He later formed a second company, Black Knight Films.
Marriage to Kareena Kapoor
He met Kareena Kapoor on the set of Tashan (2008). They married on 16 Oct 2012 in a private ceremony at his Bandra home, with receptions in Mumbai and Delhi. Their sons are Taimur, born in December 2016, and Jeh, born in February 2021. Kareena wore a 200-year-old kalgi from his family's collection, the one he'd worn at their wedding, for Diwali 2026.
Sacred Games and Tanhaji
After weak years that included Humshakals (2014), which he's said he regrets, he found new life on streaming. In Netflix's first Indian original series, Sacred Games (2018–2019), he played Sartaj Singh, a weary Sikh police inspector, opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Om Raut's Tanhaji (2020), in which he played the Rajput fort-keeper Udaybhan, became his biggest hit up to then and won him another Filmfare Best Supporting Actor award.
He played Lankesh, the film's Ravana, in Adipurush (2023), which was heavily criticised, and made his Telugu debut as the villain Bhaira in Devara: Part 1 (2024), with N. T. Rama Rao Jr.
The January 2025 knife attack
In the early hours of 16 Jan 2025 an intruder stabbed Saif several times at his flat in Bandra during an attempted robbery. He was operated on at Lilavati Hospital, where surgeons removed a piece of the knife lodged near his spine, and he was discharged on 21 January. Mumbai Police arrested a Bangladeshi national, Shariful Islam, and filed a charge sheet of about 1,000 pages in April 2025. The case went to trial after a court rejected the accused's guilty plea.
On Koffee With Karan in 2026 he said his younger son, Jeh, who saw the struggle, later gave him a plastic sword "for next time".
Recent films: Jewel Thief to Haiwaan
- Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins (2025): a Netflix heist thriller with Jaideep Ahlawat.
- Kartavya (2026): a Hindi crime drama released on Netflix on 15 May 2026.
- Haiwaan (2026): Priyadarshan's remake of the Malayalam film Oppam, released on 11 Sep 2026. Saif plays Shyam, a blind martial artist, and it reunited him with Akshay Kumar 18 years after Tashan.
What's next: Long Years Ago
In October 2026 Deadline reported that he'd started filming Ritesh Batra's Long Years Ago in Mumbai, with Vidya Balan and the French actress Mélanie Laurent. It's set in 1991 and produced with Jio Studios. He took French lessons for the part, which needs him to speak French for nearly 40% of the film, according to the Deccan Chronicle.
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Aashiq Awara | Lead | Filmfare Best Male Debut |
| 2001 | Dil Chahta Hai | Sameer | Filmfare comic role award |
| 2003 | Kal Ho Naa Ho | Rohit | Filmfare Best Supporting Actor |
| 2004 | Hum Tum | Karan | National Award for Best Actor |
| 2006 | Omkara | Langda Tyagi | Filmfare negative role award |
| 2008 | Race | Ranvir | Hit |
| 2009 | Love Aaj Kal | Jai / young Veer | First Illuminati production |
| 2018–19 | Sacred Games | Sartaj Singh | Netflix series |
| 2020 | Tanhaji | Udaybhan Rathore | Filmfare Best Supporting Actor |
| 2024 | Devara: Part 1 | Bhaira | Telugu debut |
| 2026 | Haiwaan | Shyam | With Akshay Kumar |
Wife, children and family
Saif has four children, two from each marriage. Sara and Ibrahim have both followed him into films; Taimur and Jeh are still children.
| Relation | Name | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Father | Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi | India captain in 40 of his 46 Tests; died 2011 |
| Mother | Sharmila Tagore | Actress; Padma Bhushan |
| Sisters | Saba Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan | Soha is an actress, married to Kunal Kemmu |
| First wife | Amrita Singh | Married 1991, separated 2004 |
| Wife | Kareena Kapoor Khan | Married 16 Oct 2012 |
| Children | Sara (b. 1995), Ibrahim (b. 2001), Taimur (b. 2016), Jeh (b. 2021) | Sara debuted in Kedarnath (2018); Ibrahim in Nadaaniyan (2025) |
Net worth
There's no audited figure. Saif isn't on the Hurun India Rich List 2026, which names only four actors. His known assets include Pataudi Palace in Haryana and the family's holdings, but valuations quoted online aren't sourced.
Awards
- National Film Award for Best Actor: Hum Tum (2004)
- Padma Shri (2010)
- Seven Filmfare Awards, including Best Male Debut, two Best Supporting Actor awards (Kal Ho Naa Ho, Tanhaji), two comic-role awards (Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Tum) and Best Villain (Omkara)
His screen persona
Saif made his name playing charming, slightly spoiled young men in romantic comedies, then proved in Ek Hasina Thi, Omkara and Sacred Games that he could play darker parts too. Three decades in, he's one of the few Hindi stars of the 1990s still taking risks, from Telugu villains to a French-language indie.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Saif Ali Khan?
Saif Ali Khan was born on 16 Aug 1970, so he is 56 years old as of November 2026.
Who was Saif Ali Khan's first wife?
The actress Amrita Singh. They married in October 1991 and separated in 2004; they have two children, Sara and Ibrahim.
How many children does Saif Ali Khan have?
Four: Sara (b. 1995) and Ibrahim (b. 2001) with Amrita Singh, and Taimur (b. 2016) and Jeh (b. 2021) with Kareena Kapoor.
Who are Saif Ali Khan's sisters?
Saba Ali Khan, a jewellery designer, and the actress Soha Ali Khan, who is married to Kunal Kemmu.
What happened to Saif Ali Khan in January 2025?
An intruder stabbed him several times at his Bandra home on 16 Jan 2025. He had surgery at Lilavati Hospital and was discharged on 21 January; the accused is on trial.
What is Saif Ali Khan's new movie?
He's filming Ritesh Batra's Long Years Ago with Vidya Balan and Mélanie Laurent. His 2026 releases were Kartavya on Netflix and Priyadarshan's Haiwaan.
Sources
- Deadline: Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan and Mélanie Laurent in Long Years Ago, 26 Oct 2026
- Deccan Chronicle: Saif Ali Khan learns French, 2 Nov 2026
- Moneycontrol: Saif after Haiwaan, Kartavya and Koffee With Karan, 11 Nov 2026
- News18 / IANS: Saif on Jeh and the attack, 11 Nov 2026
- The Hindu: Saif Ali Khan discharged from Lilavati Hospital, Jan 2025
- The Hindu: Bandra police file charge sheet, Apr 2025
- The Times of India: Court rejects accused's guilty plea
- Wikipedia: Saif Ali Khan (cross-checked filmography, awards and family)
