Soha Ali Khan Recently opened about their parents – the late Manssoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Veteransmåderkan Sharmila Tagore. In a new interview, the actor talked about growing up in a home that was defined by equality, her father’s progressive values, his absence in her recent years and how her mother’s cancer diagnosis reigned her deepest fear.
“My father came from a royal background, but was so progressive”
Soha, who reflected on her upbringing, said that she only realized much later how privileged her childhood had been.“As a child, you think what you grow up is normal. Only when you have a little more exposure do you realize how privileged you were. Having a role model in my mother, who was a working parent and the bread winner and a father who was so present – it shaped all my view of life,” she told Nayandeep Rakshit. Although she came from a royal and conservative background, her father was far from traditional.“You would imagine that someone from a royal, aristocratic Muslim background was conservative, but he was so progressive. I took everything for granted to grow up. Now I see how it shaped who I am – I expect to work, to be a parent, to have a voice and agency.
‘My father’s confidence never vacated despite my mother’s star’
Soha also talked about how her father’s trust and security as a man deeply affected her perception of relationships.“My father was in himself confidence. It did not shake his ego that he was married to a superstar – that she wore a bikini, romance other people on the screen and played such strong characters. He was safe, and they don’t make many such people anymore. Even today people regress people instead of developing,” she said.Soha called his father his “first role model”, added that his presence during her formative year shaped her self -esteem.“He helped with my college essays, came for my school games and was always proud of me. For a young girl, that kind of presence from your father really your sense of value and the kind of partner you are looking for later.”
‘My biggest regret is that he never got to meet Inaaya ‘
When he talked about losing his father, the actress became emotional. “There are so many moments when I miss him. My biggest regret is that he did not see Inaaya – he would have contributed something beautiful in her life. He hardly learned Kunal; I think they met only twice. He once asked my mother, “Is she still with the boy carrying earrings?” “She reminded with a smile.She continued, “People say time heals, but I feel that the years go by, you just miss them. You accept it, but you never stop missing them. The only way to deal with grief is to keep their memory alive, to talk about them with people who loved them.”
‘My mother’s cancer diagnosis gave back my deepest fear’
Soha also opened for fear and panic that she experienced when her mother, Sharmila Tagore, was diagnosed with cancer.“Of course it makes you more panic. My biggest fear has always been unclear death and lost loved ones. You can handle everything else, but not that,” she said.She expressed gratitude that her mother’s illness was discovered early.“At least when it comes to something like lung cancer, the most important prevention and early detection is – and it happened miraculously early in her case. That’s why we have the results we do today. I’m just grateful for that.”
