‘I Said, ‘I’m Fine. I’m Not Going To Die’

‘He
had
a
knife
in
each
hand.’
‘And
something
just
kind
of
took
over
and
I
just
grabbed
him.’

Why
did
eight-year-old
Taimur
go
with
his
father
Saif
Ali
Khan
to
the
hospital
in
the
dead
of
night
after
the
horrific
knife
attack
at
their
home?

Many
thoughts
were
running
through
the
actor’s
head
and
one
of
them
was
this
—
if
‘God
forbid’
something
were
to
happen
to
him,
he
would
like
his
son
to
be
around.

“He
(Taimur)
was
absolutely
composed.
He
was
fine.
He
said,
‘I’m
coming
with
you.’
I
was
getting
a
lot
of
comfort
just
from
looking
at
him
at
that
time.
And
I
didn’t
want
to
go
alone,”
Saif
told

The
Times
of
India
newspaper,
his
first
interview
since
the
January
16
attack.

‘My
wife
sent
him
knowing
what
he
would
do
for
me.
Maybe
it
wasn’t…
at
the
moment,
it
was
the
right
thing
to
do.
I
felt
good
about
it.
And
I
also
thought,
if
God
forbid,
something
happens,
I’d
like
for
him
to
be
there.
And
he
wanted
to
be
there
also.’;

It
was
a
very

filmi
scene,
recalled
the
actor,
who
was
stabbed
multiple
times
and
was
taken
to
hospital
in
an
autorickshaw
with
a
portion
of
the
knife
still
lodged
in
his
spine.

In
his
detailed
recap
of
the
intruder
attack
and
its
aftermath,
the
star
said
Taimur
and
his
house
help
Hari
rushed
him
to
the
hospital.

He
also
spoke
of
how
fortunate
he
was
to
escape
paralysis
and
that
he
will
never
keep
a
weapon
at
home,
notwithstanding
the
family’s
trauma.

The
54-year-old
star
underwent
a
six-hour
emergency
surgery
after
the
attack
at
his
12th-floor
apartment
in
Mumbai’s
Bandra
suburb
last
month.

Kareena,
he
said,
was
making
calls
frantically
but
nobody
was
up.

‘And
we
looked
at
each
other,
and
I
said,
“I’m
fine.
I’m
not
going
to
die.”
And
Taimur
also
asked
me
—
“Are
you
going
to
die?”
I
said,
“No”,’
Saif
said.

Responding
to
naysayers
asking
why
there
was
no
driver
at
their
home,
Saif
said,
‘Nobody
stays
here
all
night.
Everyone
has
a
home
to
go
to.’

He
also
said
there
was
no
time
to
call
the
driver.

‘I
went
downstairs
and
out.
The
first
rickshaw
was
me
going
to
a
hospital.

‘The
rickshaw
guy
saw
the
blood
and
he
knew
something
had
happened.
But
I
think
because
of
the
kid,
he
kind
of
gave
the
whole
thing
some
respectability.
He
saw
that
we
were
decent
people,
somehow.
I
don’t
know
how.
And
he
was
so
amazing…
he
took
a
shortcut
and
took
it
easy
on
bumps.
He
drove
me
to
Lilavati
(Hospital),’
Saif
said.

The
shock
and
adrenaline
was
so
overpowering,
he
said,
that
he
didn’t
initially
realise
he
had
been
stabbed.

According
to
Saif,
the
intruder
was
hiding
inside
his
younger
son
Jeh’s
room.

Geeta,
their
other
house
help,
rushed
in
to
their
room
around
2
am.

“I
kind
of
lost
it
and
went
in
there
to
see
that
and
I
saw
this
guy
holding
(what
I
thought
were)
two
sticks
over
Jeh’s
bed;
it
was
actually
a
hexa
blade.
So
he
had
a
knife
in
each
hand
and
a
mask
on.

‘It
was
a
surreal
scene.
And
something
just
kind
of
took
over
and
I
just
grabbed
him.
I
ran
and
pulled
him
down,
and
then
we
were
wrestling.
He
was
thumping
me
as
hard
as
he
could
in
my
back,
and
it
was
just
thuds.’

It
went
on
for
a
while
with
the
actor
getting
slashed
on
his
neck,
palm,
wrist
and
arm,
as
he
tried
to
ward
off
the
attack
“barefoot,
bare-handed
in
a
kurta
pajama”.

Meanwhile,
Kareena
had
taken
Jeh
out
of
the
room.

Eventually,
Geeta
pulled
the
attacker
off
of
the
actor
and
shoved
him
away.

‘It
was
a

filmi
scene
where
I
was
covered
in
blood
and
we
took
two
decorative
swords
off
the
wall.
And
that’s
what
Taimur
saw
—
me
covered
in
blood
and
Hari,
the
other
house
help,
holding
two
swords.
So,
it
was
vaguely
heroic,
at
least
that
moment
(laughs).

‘We
said,
“Let’s
get
him”.
And
Kareena
said,
“No,
let’s
get
out!
Because
we’ve
got
to
get
you
to
a
hospital,
and
I’ve
got
to
get
Jeh
out
of
here
because
I
feel
he’s
(the
intruder)
still
around,
and
there
could
be
more
of
them”.’

Saif
said
he
lost
some
feeling
in
his
right
leg
because
he
had
been
‘nicked
in
the
spine’.

The
doctors
told
him
a
good
three-four
inches
of
the
knife
went
in
behind
his
shoulder
blade
and
worked
its
way
right
to
the
spinal
cord.

‘And
there’s
spinal
fluid
leaking
out,
which
is
why
the
feeling
in
the
leg
was
going.
That’s
how
close
it
came:
Just
one
more
millimetre
and
we’d
be
talking
paralysis.
It’s
not
like,
you
know,
a
back
spasm
or
something
that
we’re
underplaying,’
he
said.

The
kids
are
okay,
Saif
said.

‘Jeh
has
given
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
a
little
concerned
about
security.”

The
other
big
question
being
asked
is
why
the
celebrity
didn’t
have
any
security.

‘I’ve
never
believed
in
security.
I
don’t
want
it.
I
never
wanted
to
walk
around
with
three
of
these
guys.
I
think
it
would
be
a
nightmare
for
me.
And
I
still
won’t
because
I
don’t
think
this
is
an
attack
on
me.
I’m
not
under
threat.’

He
also
termed
the
attack
a
‘mistake’
and
firmly
believed
the
intruder
climbed
a
drainpipe
and
squeezed
through
a
hole
and
arrived
in
their
house.

‘I
don’t
think
he
knew
whose
house
it
was.
It’s
not
an
inside
job.
It’s
none
of
these
things.
And
the
police
have
done
a
fantastic
job.’
he
said,
stressing
that
he
still
felt
very
safe
in
Mumbai.

A
Bangladeshi
man
was
arrested
last
month
for
allegedly
stabbing
Saif
and
is
currently
in
judicial
custody,
according
to
the
police.

Sara
and
Ibrahim
Ali
Khan,
his
elder
children
from
his
first
marriage
to
actor
Amrita
Singh,
were
also
emotional
after
the
attack.

When
he
was
discharged
from
the
hospital
on
January
21,
many
clips
surfaced
online
showing
the
actor
walking
comfortably.
Many
on
social
media
speculated
about
the
seriousness
of
his
injuries,
a
claim
quickly
rubbished
by
his
sister,
jewellery
designer
Saba
Pataudi.

The
actor
said
he
never
thought
about
‘how
to
present
it’.

‘The
more
I
consider
the
PR
aspect
of
it,
I’ve
come
to
the
conclusion
that
I
think
my
life
is
pretty
interesting
for
actually
what
it
is,
it
doesn’t
need
a
twist.
It
doesn’t
need
to
be
twisted
and
presented…

‘Walking
around
after
that,
it’s
still
painful
to
stand
for
too
long.
The
aches
and
pains
are
there,
but
they’re
getting
better
every
day.
And
I
think
it
will
be
a
complete
recovery.’