Saif Ali Khan says dad Tiger Pataudi’s silence at parties would ‘exasperate’ mom Sharmila: ‘People less informed spoke’

4 min readKolkataMay 21, 2026 01:34 PM Saif Ali Khan was in his mother and veteran actor Sharmila Tagore’s hometown Kolkata to honour his father and legendary cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi at the Tiger Pataudi Memorial Lecture 2026. The actor, joined seasoned English cricketer Sir Ian Botham at the event, spoke fondly of how reserved yet assured his late father was.
“At home, he rarely spoke about achievements. He rarely spoke about anything. My mother would be exasperated at dinners and get togethers with people less informed than him would be giving their opinion. He would say no one asked me, but he wouldn’t speak, because no one asked him. It was a very different brand of confidence,” Saif recalled during the commemorative lecture. Tiger Pataudi died at the age of 70 in 2011.
Pataudi didn’t just keep the self-belief to himself, but believed in instilling it in his fellow cricketers as well. “He believed in belief — instilling self belief in Indian players who had never before been told they could dominate world cricket. At a time when Indian teams were expected merely to participate, he insed they compete to win. And that massive change of mindset, I think, was one of his great contributions,” added Saif, as reported Wion News.
Saif imagined that had his father been alive today, he’d probably be “slightly embarrassed” all the attention, but also be “quietly pleased” that the conversation remained about cricket, ideas, and the future. “So on behalf of our family, thank you – for remembering him not as a figure from the past, but as a continuing presence in the spirit of the game. Thank you for keeping Tiger alive where he belonged most – among lovers of sport,” said the actor.
He hailed Tiger Pataudi as his “hero” and claimed that he could talk about him all night. “I knew him respectfully as Abba, a man of very few words who somehow said everything that mattered,” said Saif, even recalling how his father, who lost the sight in his right eye in a car accident in 1961, came to terms with the loss pretty soon. “I never heard him describe the loss as an adversity. To him, it was simply a fact. Something to adjust to. Something to work harder around,” said Saif.

“And perhaps that is what defined him most. Not brilliance alone – but composure. He believed leadership was not about commanding attention, but about earning trust being open and above all fair,” added the actor, who recalled how cricket was an “equalizer” at the Pataudi Palace, growing up. “Everyone played – drivers, staff, family, cousins, gardeners. Cricket was always a great equaliser and taught us to respect people from an early age,” said Saif.
In a recent interview with SCREEN, Saif recalled that contrary to his father, his mother played a more persuasive role in shaping his career as an actor. He revealed there was a time when she nudged him to choose better roles. “There was a time when she told me you’re not sounding like a very interesting actor. You have to balance your choices and think more creatively. That was when I was taking things for granted a bit,” said the actor.Story continues below this ad
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“When are you going to tell me you’re doing an interesting role?,” Sharmila asked Saif, when he told her he’s excited to shoot for a film in France. “She saw more potential. So, she was nudging me in her way to wake up,” admitted Saif. Soon after, he went on to make his mother proud playing Langda Tyagi in Vishal Bhardwaj’s 2006 crime drama Omkara.