'Something took over me, and I grabbed him': Saif Ali Khan on surviving knife attack
After a terrifying encounter with an intruder inside his own home, Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has finally broken his silence. In an interview with Indian outlet Bombay Times, the actor recounted the harrowing night, his miraculous survival, and the public skepticism that followed.
It was supposed to be an ordinary night. Kareena Kapoor had gone out for dinner, while Saif stayed back, preparing for work the next day. Around 2am, their househelp rushed in with alarming news—there was an intruder in their son Jeh's room, armed with a knife and demanding money.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "I saw this masked man standing over Jeh's bed, holding what I initially thought were two sticks. It turned out to be a hexa blade—knives in both hands," he recalled. "Something just took over me, and I grabbed him."
A fierce struggle ensued. Saif wrestled the man to the ground as the intruder repeatedly struck him in the back. At first, the actor did not realise he was being stabbed. "It felt like thuds. I assumed he was punching me. The adrenaline and shock were too much," he exclaimed. But as the assailant slashed at his neck, Saif instinctively blocked with his hands, sustaining deep cuts on his palm, wrist, and arm.
The househelp Geeta, who pulled the attacker off Saif and shoved him away. The two managed to escape and lock the door. It was then that Saif noticed the extent of his injuries.
"I was covered in blood. My right leg felt numb. I thought I had been stabbed in the leg, but later, I realised a knife had nicked my spine," he shared.
Meanwhile, Kareena had already moved Jeh to safety. She took him to Taimur's room while Saif, despite his injuries, went looking for a weapon to defend his family.
The intruder, however, managed to escape the way he had entered—climbing up a drainpipe and squeezing through a window into the kids' bathroom.
Saif and his househelp then grabbed decorative swords from the wall, preparing to confront the intruder. That's when Kareena intervened. "She said, 'Let's get out. We need to get you to the hospital, and I need to take Jeh somewhere safe,'" Saif recounted.
With no driver on call at that hour, Kareena frantically looked for a cab or a rickshaw. "I told her, 'I'm fine. I'm not going to die.' Even Taimur asked me, 'Are you going to die?' I reassured him."
Taimur insisted on accompanying his father. "He was composed. He wanted to come with me, and I didn't want to go alone," Saif shared.
A rickshaw driver finally agreed to take them to Lilavati Hospital. "He saw the blood but didn't panic. Maybe because of the kid, he gave the whole thing some respectability," he added.
Upon arrival, Saif walked into the emergency room, covered in blood, with Taimur by his side. "The doctors took a minute to register what was happening. When I told them who I was, there was a double take, and then all hell broke loose," he recalled.
Despite his injuries, Saif remained lucid. "They brought a wheelchair, but I refused. I asked for a stretcher instead," he said.
A spinal neurosurgeon was called in urgently. The MRI revealed that a three-to-four-inch blade had penetrated behind Saif's shoulder blade, reaching dangerously close to his spinal cord. "The knife had broken off inside. It was just one millimetre away from causing paralysis," he revealed.
The surgery lasted six hours, with 2.5 hours dedicated solely to repairing his spine. "I lost spinal fluid, and even now, there's numbness in my thigh," he admitted.
Despite the severity of his injuries, Saif's recovery was unexpectedly smooth, leading to a wave of skepticism on social media.
"People questioned how I was walking out of the hospital so casually. But close is close—you're either paralysed or you're not," he said.
"Yes, I have stitches—25 here, 30 there. The slashes on my palm could have severed an artery, but they didn't. It's a miracle my hands are functioning. I don't know how he missed my carotid and jugular—it's not possible to cut someone's neck the way mine was cut and not kill them."
Some also speculated about the delay in getting to the hospital. "There was no lag. The first rickshaw we took was straight to Lilavati. People also asked why we didn't have a driver at home. But our drivers leave at night unless they are specifically asked to stay back," he explained.
Despite the ordeal, Saif refuses to let fear dictate his life. "I feel very safe in Mumbai. This was not an attack on me; it was a burglary attempt gone wrong. The police have done a fantastic job," he asserted.
As for security measures, he remains firm in his decision. "People have suggested keeping a gun, but I don't believe in it. My father slept with a shotgun by his bed, but I feel accidents happen because of guns. I used to own one, but I got rid of it."
The family, meanwhile, has come together in the aftermath. "Jeh gave me a plastic sword and said, 'Keep this by your bed for the next time the chor comes.'
He says, 'Geeta saved Abba, and Abba saved me.' Taimur is more concerned about security. Sara and Ibrahim were emotional," he shared.
Kareena, too, has been a pillar of strength. "She's doing well. Naturally, she's shaken and concerned about security, but she has handled it admirably."
Even Sharmila Tagore, Saif's mother, took charge in her own way. "She was supportive about Taimur being there. She understood the protective parental instinct. At the hospital, she made sure everyone, including the doctors, wore masks to prevent infections. And she held my hand and sang me a lullaby," he said with a smile.
Reflecting on the incident, Saif admitted he would handle things differently if given another chance.
"I'd put on the lights and tell him, 'Do you know who I am?' Maybe he'd realise he was in the wrong house," he laughed.
He holds no grudge against his attacker. "Taimur said he should be forgiven because he was hungry. I would have, too—until the knife came into the equation. That's where my sympathy ends."
Despite everything, he refuses to let this night define him. "This is not a Monica Seles moment. My life isn't changing. It was a mistake—a burglary attempt gone terribly wrong. And honestly, that poor guy's life is more screwed than mine," Saif concluded.
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