Sharmila Tagore and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s children Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan have been in the spotlight for many years now, but their third sibling, Saba Pataudi has largely stayed away from the glamorous world of Bollywood. However, she is perhaps the most expressive family member on Instagram. Recently, she opened up about her childhood and her bond with her brother Saif Ali Khan, recalling how he would steal her clothes and even take money from her wallet.

‘Saif Ali Khan would steal clothes from my cupboard’

Speaking to Big Bollywood Buffs, Saba said, “We spent a lot of time growing up. At some point, he pinched my T-shirt instead of my sister. He was raiding my cupboard, and I was asking my mother, ‘I can’t find my favourite Benetton blue shirt.’ And she said, ‘No wonder Saif is wearing this tight blue T-shirt everywhere.’”

She recalled another incident, saying, “We have had episodes together. He would take Rs 50 from my wallet and give it back to me, saying it was Rakhi money. They are fun memories. We grew up together. But later, we started going our separate ways, college started creating some distance between us,” she recalled and said that they could not spend much time together after Saif started working in the movies and welcomed children Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim Ali Khan.

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‘I can count on him when there is a crisis’

“We are there for each other all the time as a family, and at the same time, each one of us is quite independent and has our own space. It’s a good balance. I can count on him when there is a crisis. I know that Soha and Saif have my back, and I have theirs. It’s a given. I don’t doubt that.”

She then spoke about Saif as both a person and an actor. “As a sister, I am so proud of him. He works tremendously hard. He believes in his work, and in anything he does, he gives it his 100%. He is a natural.”

‘Saif is a complete natural actor, he is talented’

Saba also recalled joking about Soha’s acting choices while comparing her siblings. “I joke with Soha, saying that actually, he is talented. She has had some very good films too, but not all. Some of them were like, ‘What were you thinking?’ But bhai is talented. He is a complete natural and is meant to be in cinema. He is a very good father and brother. He does his best.”

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She added, “He is very inspiring. He is witty and well-read. He studied in London, and then there was the upbringing. We are not just an Indian family. The exposure brings a very different kind of upbringing. Our parents would never read letters that were addressed to us. We had our privacy. We were trusted to do what was correct. We were given a deadline, and we had to stick with it.”

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‘I respect Kareena Kapoor a lot’

In the same conversation, Saba also spoke about her sister-in-law Kareena Kapoor, praising her personality and approach to life.

“Kareena is not dramatic. She is entertaining. She is very good at her job. She is fantastic. She knows exactly what she wants to do. And what I love about her is that she owns who she is. So when somebody else, like the media, is pulling her leg and calling her anything that’s not exactly a compliment, she’s like, ‘So what?’ Somebody like that is very clear about who she is. That is commendable. I respect her a lot because I think who she is is what she is. She doesn’t pretend to be anyone else.”

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When asked to describe Kareena, Saba said, “Kareena is very conscientious. She is very straightforward and she’s just very supportive. She has been very kind to me.”