'I want to do some things, like take my mum on the Orient Express to Venice.'
As Saif Ali Khan turned 54 on August 16, he shares his earliest birthday memories with Subhash K Jha: "My earliest birthday memories are in my mum's flat in Carmichael Road (south Mumbai) where I grew up. I remember my fifth birthday... magicians and balloons and cake, cartoons on the screen... A lot of people would come."
"I remember my father looking very lean and handsome, quietly smoking a cigarette in the background and then participating in some tricks. Someone gave me a toy car with 007 on it."
Now, it is his younger sons, Taimur and Jeh, who get excited on his birthday.
"They wake me up with cards that I've seen them making them but pretend I haven't. And they've told me my present -- a Batman action figure. I will never open the box. Then we have breakfast together and God willing, a lovely day.
"My priorities in life have always been what they are. I am committed to work, and I want to make more money and invest it well to support my lifestyle and my ideas for celebration. I love doing interesting work. Not missing out on too much precious family time is paramount to me. So it's a balance, and I think we do it well."
"I want to do some things, like take my mum on the Orient Express to Venice. She wants to go to Florence. (I also want) dinners and travels with good friends, wine and chats in lovely places."
"The mantra now is 'do good work and bounce'! Travel to new places, eat well and laugh with friends. I would like Taimur and Jeh to be aware of things and be exposed to the world. They have been swimming in cold waterholes abroad and farming and hiking in their own country."
"We teach them that the most important thing is to be a good person, and we value that quality. They have been presented a way of living and seeing things with us. Now, they must choose.
"Tim says the idea of speaking lines to a crowd is petrifying. I will support that. He wants to be a footballer! I think he can be a teacher, a photographer, whatever he wants. He is lucky; he can choose. The same for Jeh."
"After a good education, you must choose your own path. It needn't be the golden road to millions, it can be a peaceful, quiet job. An art dealer, perhaps? There must be options beyond our own jobs."
Saif is happy with his life.
"I'm in a place where I feel very happy. I could be a bit more organised in what I read and how I learn. My French is still at a basic level; I should have been fluent by now. The same with my guitar playing."
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff.com
