Before independence, the Indian subcontinent housed over 500 princely states, which were the royalty of India. After the 1970s, however, royalty in Indian society was replaced by business tycoons and, in some cases, the richest film stars and cricketers. Quite often, the erstwhile royalty and the modern royalty overlap, though, which is the case with this one actor, who lives in one of the most expensive residences in the country. (Also read: World’s richest actor has only one hit but $1.4 billion net worth, is richer than Tom Cruise and Shah Rukh Khan)
Indian actor with the most expensive house
The houses of the biggest Indian stars have become tourist attractions. At any given time, fans can throng outside Shah Rukh Khan’s Mannat, Amitabh Bachchan’s Jalsa, or Salman Khan’s Galaxy Apartments. Given that these are the biggest Bollywood stars around, one would assume that one of these would be the owner of the most expensive house in the cinema. However, that honour goes to an erstwhile royal, whose ancestral seat houses a palace, over a thousand miles from Mumbai.
Multiple reports suggest that Saif Ali Khan’s Pataudi Palace is priced at ₹800 crore, making it more expensive than Mannat ( ₹200 crore) or Jalsa ( ₹100 crore). Other palatial mansions of Indian stars are all between ₹50-100 crore, nowhere near the monumental price tag of the Pataudi Palace.
All about the Pataudi Palace
The Pataudi Palace – also known as the Ibrahim Kothi – is situated in the town of Pataudi on the outskirts of Gurugram, Haryana. The palace was the seat of the erstwhile Nawab of Pataudi. While Saif nominally holds the title now, his father and grandfather were the titular Nawabs, who ruled their domain from the palace. The Ibrahim Kothi was built by Saif’s grandfather, former Indian cricketer Ifthikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, after his marriage to the Begum of Bhopal in the 1930s. The nawab felt his old home was not fit for his new bride and, hence, commissioned British architect Robert Tor Russell to construct a palace in the style of European mansions.
Saif often spends time there with his wife, Kareena, and their two kids, Taimur and Jeh. His children from his first marriage – actors Ibrahim and Sara Ali Khan – also spend vacations here. Saif’s sisters – Saba Ali Khan and actor Soha Ali Khan – have also posted pictures from their stay at the palace. The Pataudis often spend special occasions such as birthdays and festivals at the palace, with the whole extended family – including Saif’s mother, Sharmila Tagore – coming together.
Film shoots at the Pataudi Palace
The Pataudi Palace had been leased to the Neemrana Hotels due to a debt the late Mansoor Ali Khan owed them. Saif repossessed the palace in 2014 and renovated it. Since 2015, it has been rented out for the filming of several TV shows, web series, and films, notably Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal.
Saif himself lived and worked here when his Amazon Prime show Taandav was shot in the palace in 2021. Spread across 10 acres, the Pataudi Palace now serves as the summer home for the Pataudi family.