Kareena Kapoor is an incredible woman: Saif  Ali Khan

Saif  Ali Khan Who Celebrated  His 10th  Marriage  Anniversary On October 16  Talks With Subhash  K Jha About His  Equation With Wife Kareena  & His Two  Sons

It’s been ten years of a successful marriage with Kareena?

Yes,it has been ten years! And two lovely sons with her. And yeah, there is  the important  anniversary coming up.It feels nice. Kareena is an incredible woman. I don’t say it often  enough. I don’t post on Instagram on how wonderful she is, because I not on social media. She jokingly tells me to get on social media to see what  others say about her(laughs). So let me take this opportunity to  say she is an absolutely incredible woman.

What makes her  so incredible?

The way she  balances out her life and priorities. And she is such a good friends with her friends. I’ve seen her  caring  so much about how an evening should be planned with her friends. She is correct in her behaviour. She  takes all the right emotional  decisions.I don’t know how to  put it…just her inherent sense  of balance : family, personal time, kids,work….She has taught me a lot about time management and organizing  family holidays; when to go to our ancestral town Pataudi, when to go to London, when to just stay home and make  pizzas. It is her enthusiasm and  organizing skills that keep the family happy. I think  Kareena and I  have been lucky to  have grown together. It’s been  a great  ten years and I feel very  lucky and blessed.

What according to you is the secret formula for a successful marriage?

I don’t know  anything about a  secret formula. But I know what is  great about my relationship with Kareena  is that there  is a great deal of space  to do our own things. We give a lot of weightage to our individual  interests.I’ve made  her a book reader.She has made me more gregarious.  Our jobs  , creative as they are, keep us healthily occupied  so that when we  find time to be  together we cherish and  celebrate our togethernes.That balance between being together  and  giving each other the space…it’s a bit tricky. But it’s  all good when you have two likeminded  people, like us. We  give equal importance to doing films and making pizzas at home. I think  it’s a  healthy balance  of work, family friends and  together-time. Leading  a balanced life comes as naturally to Kareena as me.

You and your family are constantly in the limelight.Do you regret not being able to protect your family’s privacy?

Media  attention is part and parcel of what we do. It’s a funny thing, why it’s there and  who consumes  it. Just because it is there on  social media…just because some people  like to see  a picture  of a cute kid, it doesn’t really mean anything. Kareena  and I are in this to  do our work.All this media attention is an entirely different ballgame. But it is  a but ridiculous  to talk about  a lack of privacy.

Why do you  say that?

 When you are in a profession that entails  getting into public attention , when so   much of  your life is  about getting  attention, when you want people  to pay money to see for what  you do, then it’s a  bit ridiculous to  harp on the lack of privacy. One can’t  have it both ways.

But surely the paparazzi attention gets  overwhelming ?

Yes, privacy does  become a concern at times. We are human too after all and we do want to be on our own. So yes, we do get  irked sometimes. I guess that’s why we travel far and wide to create some  private space  for the family. But like I said, no complaints. It is because of what we do that we can afford to travel and create  our private spaces. So it  all balances out.

Not you or Kareena or your other children but it’s Taimur who gets the maximum media attention.How do you feel about that and what measures do you intend to take to give him a normal life?

We do  have a   normal life. We go where we want. The photographers are not that intrusive. They are there in Bandra. If you want to avoid them you just have to cross the  bridge and you won’t be papped. But   I wish in school  star kids were  not  given so much importance. They are  just kids . I wish they could just blend in with the other kids. But that’s the way it.

So giving Taimur  a normal schooling atmosphere is a problem?

One just has to live with it.Mumbai is the kind if town where anything of interest is monetized. Big cities  offer you anything.But admittedly, Taimur is  of interest  for whose son he is, he is quite aware  of that. He has not  created the  interest in him on his own.We are quite aware  of that as well. He is aware that he carries some responsibility. We’ve  taught him how to behave  in public because he is not an  infant anymore.And he  is  a wellbehaved kid. We are  very grateful  for what we have. It’s  our duty to behave responsibly. There is  nothing to complain about , is there?

How did the pandemic change your perspective on life family and career?

It didn’t really change anything. It’s always been  like that. Some people felt the pandemic made them realize what is important in life. Others  like us have always known what is important.We were lucky to be  comfortable during the pandemic.  Of course there was the looming financial crisis. If the pandemic had  continued  nobody would  have been comfortable. But psychologically, we   always knew that  spending time in the family, reading watching books, cooking were  important in  life.So the pandemic didn’t really teach me  anything  that   I didn’t already know.

What is your equation with your youngest born? He seems more a Mama’s boy?

Yes I have to say  Jeh is  a Mama’s boy. He is  very very attached  to his mother. Actually all  of us are attached  to Kareena. But Jeh is  bit more attached. He is very very sweet. A little baby running around the house is the best thing to happen to any family.As he begins to talk I know I will pull him over to my side a bit more(laughs). But it’s  lovely to see  the bonding between  Kareena and Jeh.

Is Taimur attached to his baby brother?

Tim has grown up quickly after Jeh’s arrival. Tim is no longer the  infant. He allows himself to be  beaten by Jeh. He adores Jeh. He is very patient and protective with him. They are  four years apart but they often need to be separated.

How did you avoid  sibling rivalry between them?

Very simple . Kareena gave Jeh  more time,while I gave Tim more attention.