Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was anointed the tenth Nawab of Pataudi at a ceremony at his ancestral palace on Monday. The ceremony took place exactly 40 days post his father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s passing away, as per custom.
The 41-year-old was titled ‘Nawab’ at a pagdi ceremony at the Ibrahim Palace in Pataudi where 52 heads of villages tied a white turban around his head. His mother Sharmila Tagore and sisters Saba Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan were also present, accompanied by Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Although Saif was initially reluctant to be anointed as the Nawab, a title no longer recognised by the government, he finally acquiesced to honour the villager’s sentiments. As the newly appointed Nawab, he will be responsible for his father’s estate, ancestral home, eye hospital and other charitable institutions that were instated under their purview.
The late Pataudi took over from his mother as heir in the Bhopal royal family, allowing him to become the mutawalli (patron) of dozens of shrines, orphanages and religious trusts that are part of the princely Waqf properties of Bhopal.
Saif has been given the honorary title last held by his father, who died on September 22 following chronic lung infection. Pataudi gave up his title in 1971 when India abolished royal entitlements through the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India. Last week, Khan’s sister Saba was made the patron of the Auqaf-e-Shahi, the body managing the religious and charitable endowments of the erstwhile princely State.