‘I Want To Make More Money’

‘I
want
to
do
some
things,
like
take
my
mum
on
the
Orient
Express
to
Venice.’

As

Saif
Ali
Khan
turned
54
on
August
16,
he
shares
his
earliest
birthday
memories
with

Subhash
K
Jha:
“My
earliest
birthday
memories
are
in
my
mum’s
flat
in
Carmichael
Road
(south
Mumbai)
where
I
grew
up.
I
remember
my
fifth
birthday…
magicians
and
balloons
and
cake,
cartoons
on
the
screen…
A
lot
of
people
would
come.”

“I
remember
my
father
looking
very
lean
and
handsome,
quietly
smoking
a
cigarette
in
the
background
and
then
participating
in
some
tricks.
Someone
gave
me
a
toy
car
with
007
on
it.”

Now,
it
is
his
younger
sons,
Taimur
and
Jeh,
who
get
excited
on
his
birthday.

“They
wake
me
up
with
cards
that
I’ve
seen
them
making
them
but
pretend
I
haven’t.
And
they’ve
told
me
my
present
—
a
Batman
action
figure.
I
will
never
open
the
box.
Then
we
have
breakfast
together
and
God
willing,
a
lovely
day.

“My
priorities
in
life
have
always
been
what
they
are.
I
am
committed
to
work,
and
I
want
to
make
more
money
and
invest
it
well
to
support
my
lifestyle
and
my
ideas
for
celebration.
I
love
doing
interesting
work.
Not
missing
out
on
too
much
precious
family
time
is
paramount
to
me.
So
it’s
a
balance,
and
I
think
we
do
it
well.”

“I
want
to
do
some
things,
like
take
my
mum
on
the
Orient
Express
to
Venice.
She
wants
to
go
to
Florence.
(I
also
want)
dinners
and
travels
with
good
friends,
wine
and
chats
in
lovely
places.”

“The
mantra
now
is
‘do
good
work
and
bounce’!
Travel
to
new
places,
eat
well
and
laugh
with
friends.
I
would
like
Taimur
and
Jeh
to
be
aware
of
things
and
be
exposed
to
the
world.
They
have
been
swimming
in
cold
waterholes
abroad
and
farming
and
hiking
in
their
own
country.”

“We
teach
them
that
the
most
important
thing
is
to
be
a
good
person,
and
we
value
that
quality.
They
have
been
presented
a
way
of
living
and
seeing
things
with
us.
Now,
they
must
choose.

“Tim
says
the
idea
of
speaking
lines
to
a
crowd
is
petrifying.
I
will
support
that.
He
wants
to
be
a
footballer!
I
think
he
can
be
a
teacher,
a
photographer,
whatever
he
wants.
He
is
lucky;
he
can
choose.
The
same
for
Jeh.”

“After
a
good
education,
you
must
choose
your
own
path.
It
needn’t
be
the
golden
road
to
millions,
it
can
be
a
peaceful,
quiet
job.
An
art
dealer,
perhaps?
There
must
be
options
beyond
our
own
jobs.”

Saif
is
happy
with
his
life.

“I’m
in
a
place
where
I
feel
very
happy.
I
could
be
a
bit
more
organised
in
what
I
read
and
how
I
learn.
My
French
is
still
at
a
basic
level;
I
should
have
been
fluent
by
now.
The
same
with
my
guitar
playing.”

Photographs
curated
by
Satish
Bodas/Rediff.com