Saif Ali Khan, who was viciously stabbed by an intruder at his home on January 16, has shared the chilling details of that night. The actor, who sustained six stab wounds in the back during an attempted robbery, underwent two major surgeries, one of which involved removing a three-inch knife blade lodged near his spine.
In an interview with The Times of India, Saif recounted how he fought the attacker alone until his house help intervened. He also explained why he chose to take his son Taimur to the hospital instead of his wife, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and why they opted to travel in an auto-rickshaw despite their high-profile status.
Saif recalled the terrifying moment when he and Kareena were awakened around 2 a.m. by their house help, warning of an intruder in their son Jeh’s room. The intruder, armed with two knives, demanded money. Saif initially mistook the weapons for sticks but soon realized they were hexa blades.
While trying to overpower the intruder, Saif was repeatedly stabbed in the back and neck. Amid the chaos, Saif didn’t initially register the severity of his injuries. “I couldn’t handle it after a while as there were two knives in action. I was praying that someone could get this guy off me,” he said.
Eventually, their house help, Geeta, intervened, pulling the intruder away. Saif and Geeta managed to lock the attacker in Jeh’s room, but he escaped through a drainpipe.
Kareena quickly took Jeh to her sister Karisma Kapoor’s house, while Saif, heavily bleeding, decided to head to the hospital. Without a driver, Saif, Taimur, and their house help Hari took an auto-rickshaw to Lilavati Hospital.
Saif shared that despite witnessing the traumatic scene, Taimur remained calm and insisted on accompanying him to the hospital. The actor reassured his son, who asked, “Are you going to die?” by replying, “No,” which gave Saif some comfort amid the chaos.
It wasn’t until Saif arrived at the hospital that the true gravity of his injuries became clear. Doctors informed him that the knife had punctured his shoulder blade and come dangerously close to his spinal cord. “It came really close to being paralyzed. One more millimeter, and we’d be talking paralysis,” Saif revealed.
After a six-hour surgery, Saif is recovering well, though he still bears numerous scars from the attack. He considers himself lucky, as his critical veins and arteries, like the carotid artery and jugular vein, were miraculously untouched. “I don’t understand how he missed my carotid artery and jugular vein… it’s not possible to cut somebody’s neck the way my neck is cut and not kill them,” he reflected.
Despite the ordeal, Saif described his recovery as “incredible” and “pain-free.” He made his first public appearance post-incident at a Netflix event in Mumbai, where he announced his upcoming film The Jewel Thief.
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