Sharmila Tagore was the one with an income after marrying Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, says daughter Soha: ‘He inherited wealth but…’

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This isn’t the first time Soha has spoken about her parents’ unconventional dynamic. A few months ago, in an interview with Just Too Filmy, she shared similar sentiments, highlighting how her father, fondly known as Tiger, played cricket purely for the love of the game, not for monetary gain. “By the time I was born, he retired from cricket but he played for the enjoyment of the sport. There was no money at all, if you can believe it, in cricket when my father was playing in the 1960s. No IPL, no endorsements, nothing,” she said.

Continuing on the same theme, Soha added, “My mother was the breadwinner in the family so I always saw him saying, ‘You should do what makes you happy,’ and I also saw my mother who also has been an actor her whole life, and she still chose to do whatever her heart prompted her to do. At the age of 24, she got married even though you typically don’t do that if you are a woman. You know that when you get married your career takes a bit of a hit. She had a child a couple of years later, and she continued to work and she had some of her biggest successes after that.”

Sharmila Tagore and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi married in 1968, at a time when their interfaith relationship made headlines and stirred public debate. The couple remained together for 43 years, until Pataudi’s death in 2011. Soha has also previously shared that her mother married at 24, despite strong opposition . Many at the time warned her that it would be “professional suicide,” but Sharmila followed her heart.