Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan recently opened up about the violent knife attack that took place in his Mumbai home earlier this year, an incident that nearly cost him his life and unfolded in front of his young sons, Taimur and Jeh.

Saif Ali Khan recounts the moment after attack

In a candid interview with Esquire India, Saif recounted the harrowing night when an intruder broke into his residence past midnight on January 16.

“There’s this crazy sense of how lucky one is because (the knife attack) was damn close. And to walk away relatively unscathed is nothing short of miraculous,” he shared.

The actor, wounded and on the floor, described a surreal moment as time seemed to slow down. “It could have been the adrenaline, but I remember thinking life has been colourful and I’ve been privileged… not just in terms of money. So many people have more. But I’ve lived in that rarefied atmosphere of Winchester, travelled with loved ones, the wine, my wife, my children…,” Saif added.

Reports confirmed that Saif fought off the attacker barehanded, sustaining a deep injury to his thoracic spine. A 2.5-inch blade fragment was later surgically removed at Lilavati Hospital. Doctors revealed that if the weapon had pierced just slightly closer to the spinal cord, it could have resulted in paralysis.

The intruder, later identified as Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, was arrested shortly after. He reportedly entered the home intending to rob the actor and assaulted both Saif and a staff member using a wooden weapon and a blade.

Saif’s latest work

Saif Ali Khan was last seen in Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins with Jaideep Ahlawat, a high-stakes action thriller that premiered on Netflix. Kookie Gulati and Robbie Grewal directed it. Next, he has Priyadarshan’s Haiwan in the pipeline. The film reunites him with Akshay Kumar.