Saif Ali Khan on raising sons with Kareena beyond religion: One God, many names

Actor Saif Ali Khan opened up about the conversations he has with his sons, Taimur and Jehangir, about religion. He reflected on his interfaith upbringing and the values he hopes to pass on to his family.

In Short

• Saif Ali Khan said he teaches his sons that there is one god with many names
• He admitted that he enjoys talking about religion despite not being deeply religious
• The actor also recalled growing up around Christian institutions

Actor Saif Ali Khan recently opened up about discussing religion with his sons, Taimur and Jehangir, saying he has taught them that “there’s one god, and he has many names”. At a recent event, the 55-year-old said these are conversations he enjoys having, even though he does not see himself as a deeply religious person.

His remarks are rooted in his own family history. Saif was born to late cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and veteran actor Sharmila Tagore, who had an interfaith marriage. He later had two interfaith marriages himself, first with actor Amrita Singh, whom he divorced in 2004, and later with actor Kareena Kapoor, whom he married in 2012.

Speaking at We The Women’s London edition, Saif said, “It’s a conversation I love having with them. Because I myself am not the most religious of people. My mother taught me, and I taught my kids, that there’s one god and he has many names. It’s as simple as that. You worship him in different places. And if your religion talks about love and forgiveness to your fellow men, then that’s it.”

He also recalled growing up around Christian institutions and said he had spent time in churches and in schools that began the day with chapel.

Sharing an anecdote with a laugh, he said he once tried to bunk chapel by saying he belonged to a different religion, but “then they got a maulvi (islamic scholar) to come and talk to us. That didn’t work”. Saif said his upbringing still included prayers from other faiths, and that Christmas was celebrated as much as Diwali. “I’ve never really thought about it. It’s intuitive,” he added.

Saif also shared a recent exchange with Taimur. He said he asked his 9-year-old son, “What’s the difference between religion and methodology?” To which, Taimur replied, “In religion, we pray, and in methodology, we don’t.” Saif called it “a good answer” and said, “So, we’re constantly talking about these things.” He added that his mother had an open mind about religion, and so does his wife, calling it “more of a spiritual approach”.

The Khan family on interfaith relationships

Last year, Saif’s younger sister, actor Soha Ali Khan, said she and her actor-husband Kunal Kemmu faced the same kind of criticism over their interfaith marriage as Saif and Kareena Kapoor did. Speaking to journalist Nayandeep Rakshit, she said there were “lots of strange things” and cited headlines around “Love Jihad” and “Ghar Wapsi”, along with remarks such as, “You took one of ours, now we will take one of yours.”

Their mother, Sharmila Tagore, had earlier said on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal that she converted to Islam and was rechristened Ayesha before marrying Mansoor Ali Khan. “It wasn’t easy, nor was it very difficult. It had to be faced and understood. You couldn’t be very flippant about it. Before that, I wasn’t terribly religious. Now, I think I know more about Hinduism and Islam,” she had said.

Kareena Kapoor Khan had also spoken about her marriage to Saif at The Express Adda three years ago. She said too much time and energy was spent discussing interfaith relationships and the age gap between them, while adding, “The most important thing between Saif and I is that we like each other and enjoy our company.”

On the work front, he was recently seen in Kartavya. The actor will next star in Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan alongside Akshay Kumar. The film is set to release in theatres on September 11.

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