While Soha Ali Khan was born into royalty, her parents made it a point that she did not feel entitled. Contrary to popular belief, veteran star Sharmila Tagore and legendary cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi aka Tiger Pataudi made their kids believe that they weren’t well off. Soha Ali Khan has two siblings- Saif Ali Khan and Saba Ali Khan.

During her conversation at the Quizzitok Podcast, Soha Ali Khan shared that while she and her siblings grew up in luxury, their parents kept them grounded. She said, “I am aware that I grew up in the lap of luxury. We lived in a beautiful house in Delhi, opposite Sena Bhawan, which I realised 20 years later that we shouldn’t have gotten so comfortable in because it was taken away from us. We had a lot of things that I am sure many others don’t.”

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Looking in retrospect, she noted that as a child she never recognized her privilege. “But, as a child, you don’t really take note of how much privilege you have. I attended The British School, where many came from similar or even wealthier backgrounds. People who know about princes in India would also know that though they have a lot of traditions, fine clothes and some land, they may not have a lot of cash. At least my father gave the impression that we had no money. He was most concerned with the cost of petrol and electricity. We had one telephone with a huge extension cord and one would have to follow it to find who had the phone and it was more often than not my sister, locked in her room.”

As the conversation progressed, she revealed that Tiger Pataudi was always frugal about money. “But my father would sit on top of that phone all day long and at night. When he went to bed, he would lock it. He would also leave post-it notes all over the house saying ‘turn off the lights’. If I wanted to go to a friend’s house, he would say: ‘Petrol is very expensive.’ So, we were very aware of the value of money. When somebody once gave me Rs 500, he said, ‘You can either take this now or I’ll give you Rs 50 every August for the rest of my life.’ I handed the money to him and he kept giving me Rs 50 every year until I was 25. That was a lesson in investment and savings.”

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Soha credits her parents for teaching her how to manage her finances. Recalling, she said, “Because he lost so much in life, he didn’t take anything for granted, particularly money. My mother always did hisab-kitab (accounting). I remember, when we were growing up, she would sit with the cook after lunch and do hisab-kitab and hence, knew the price of vegetables. Although I wasn’t spoiled, I did enjoy being a princess.”