Sara Ali Khan: Biography, Films, Parents and Family

Born into the Pataudi family

Sara Ali Khan was born Sara Sultan on 12 Aug 1995 in Bombay (now Mumbai). Her father is the actor Saif Ali Khan, son of the cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and the actress Sharmila Tagore. Her mother is the actress Amrita Singh, the star of Betaab and Chameli Ki Shaadi in the 1980s, and the daughter of the socialite Rukhsana Sultana and the army officer Shivinder Singh Virk. On her father's side she has Pashtun, Assamese and Bengali ancestry; on her mother's side she is Punjabi. She was raised a Muslim. Her younger brother, Ibrahim Ali Khan, made his acting debut in Netflix's Nadaaniyan in 2025.

Saif and Amrita divorced in 2004, when Sara was nine, and the children grew up with their mother. Saif later married Kareena Kapoor in 2012, so Sara has two half-brothers, Taimur and Jeh. She has spoken warmly of her stepmother; in 2018 she said she wanted to "imbibe her professionalism". Her aunts are the actress Soha Ali Khan and the jewellery designer Saba Ali Khan.

Columbia University and the weight loss

She first appeared in an advertisement as a four-year-old. Saif has said she was inspired to act after watching Aishwarya Rai on stage in Chicago. She studied history and political science at Columbia University in New York and finished her degree in three years, in 2016, then spent about a year and a half on weight training before returning to India to act. As a teenager she struggled with her weight and has said she was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Her before-and-after photos are still among the most searched things about her.

Kedarnath and Simmba: a two-hit debut year

Her first film was Abhishek Kapoor's Kedarnath (December 2018), a love story set during the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, in which she played Mukku, a Hindu girl who falls for a Muslim porter, played by Sushant Singh Rajput. Reviews of the film were mixed, but critics praised her. It was a commercial success and won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

Three weeks later she was in Rohit Shetty's police comedy Simmba (December 2018), opposite Ranveer Singh. It grossed about ₹400 crore worldwide, the third-biggest Hindi film of 2018. Kapoor had sued her for starting Simmba while Kedarnath's shoot was paused; they settled when she agreed to split her dates between the two films.

Sushant Singh Rajput and the 2020 inquiry

Rajput helped her with her Hindi vocabulary while they made Kedarnath. After his death in June 2020, the Narcotics Control Bureau opened a drugs inquiry linked to the case, and on 26 Sep 2020 it questioned Sara in Mumbai for several hours, on the same day as Deepika Padukone and Shraddha Kapoor. The Hindustan Times reported that the actresses were not accused in the case and that their statements would be submitted to the court.

The difficult years

The next four films didn't work as well:

• Love Aaj Kal (2020): Imtiaz Ali's romance with Kartik Aaryan. Critics said she wasn't ready for so complex a part, and it flopped.
• Coolie No. 1 (2020): David Dhawan's remake of his own 1995 comedy, with Varun Dhawan. It streamed on Prime Video and was panned.
• Atrangi Re (2021): Aanand L. Rai's drama with Akshay Kumar and Dhanush, on Disney+ Hotstar. She played a double role, and reviews split over her Bihari accent.
• Gaslight (2023): a thriller on Disney+ Hotstar that critics called uneven.

Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and Metro… In Dino

Laxman Utekar's Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (June 2023), a small-town comedy with Vicky Kaushal about a married couple who fake a divorce to get a government flat, was her first theatrical release since 2020. It became an unexpected hit. Anurag Basu's ensemble film Metro… In Dino (July 2025), in which she played a woman torn between her fiancé and a man played by Aditya Roy Kapur, was a moderate success, and News18's critic praised the grit she brought to the part.

Between them came streaming and smaller roles: Murder Mubarak (Netflix, 2024), Ae Watan Mere Watan (Prime Video, 2024), in which she played the freedom fighter Usha Mehta, and Sky Force (January 2025), where she had a small part as an Air Force officer's wife.

Two releases in 2026

2026 brought two films, both with Ayushmann Khurrana:

1. Pati Patni Aur Woh Do (15 May 2026): Mudassar Aziz's comedy. India Today's critic found her more at ease than in her earlier films, but it was a box-office disappointment.
2. Udta Teer (23 Oct 2026): Aakash Kaushik's spy comedy, in which she plays Yamini, an officer at the Indian Defence Ministry, who appears mainly in the second half. Kaushik told Times Now in November 2026 that Sara had accepted the short role because "chhota role hai but impactful hai". Sacnilk's figures put its India nett at ₹48.96 crore and its worldwide gross at ₹68.17 crore after 21 days, by 12 November, with the film down to about 200 shows a day.

What's next

Several outlets, including News18 and Filmfare, reported that Rohit Shetty was in talks with Sara and Kareena for Golmaal 5. When Shetty announced the release date, 8 Jan 2027, the cast named by The Hindu didn't include either actress, so her part in it is not confirmed.

Family at a glance

Sara is not married. Her name has been linked in the press with co-stars over the years, but she has not confirmed a relationship, and we don't report rumours as fact.

Age and height

Sara Ali Khan was born on 12 Aug 1995, so she's 31 in November 2026. She hasn't published an official height.

Net worth

No verified figure exists. Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list placed her 66th in 2019, with estimated earnings of ₹5.75 crore for the year. She has endorsed Fanta, Puma, Pepsi, Veet and Kurkure, and became an equity partner in the apparel brand The Souled Store in 2022. During the Covid-19 pandemic she donated to Sonu Sood's foundation for oxygen cylinders, and on her birthday in 2021 she worked with the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation to help children orphaned by the pandemic. GQ India placed her seventh in its list of 30 most influential young Indians in 2022. Larger totals quoted on celebrity-wealth sites aren't sourced.

Why people search for her

Sara is the most visible member of the Pataudi family's third generation in films, and she's open on social media about travel, temple visits and her family. Her career has had more misses than hits since 2018. After two modest results in 2026, the next film she signs will matter.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Times Now: Udta Teer director Aakash Kaushik on Sara Ali Khan's role, 1 Nov 2026
2. Sacnilk: Udta Teer box office, figures to 12 Nov 2026
3. The Hindu: Golmaal 5 gets release date, 19 Sep 2026
4. News18: Golmaal 5 cast, Kareena and Sara in talks
5. Hindustan Times: NCB questions Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, 26 Sep 2020
6. Bollywood Hungama: Sara Ali Khan filmography
7. Wikipedia: Sara Ali Khan (cross-checked family, education, awards and reviews)

Facts checked against the sources above by Tulasiram Pemmadi on 13 Nov 2026 (IST). Where reliable sources disagree, the article says so. Spotted an error? See our corrections page or email contact@nextplayintel.com.

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