&w=3840&q=100)
How did Saif Ali Khan inherit Nawab of Bhopal's Rs 15,000-cr properties? Has he lost them now?
Saif Ali Khan and his two sisters — Soha and Saba. Instagram/sabapataudi
In a big blow for Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and his kin, the Madhya Pradesh High Court last week set aside a decades-old trial court ruling that had made him, his two sisters and mother the sole legal heirs to the properties of the erstwhile Nawab of Bhopal.
Their inheritance was challenged in an appeal by the heirs of Nawab Hamidullah Khan. Saif Ali Khan is also fighting a separate legal battle over these properties.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
What is the case? How did Saif Ali Khan inherit the Bhopal royal properties? Let's take a closer look.
Why Saif Ali Khan is an heir of Nawab of Bhopal's properties
Saif Ali Khan and his family came to inherit the properties of the erstwhile Nawab of the Bhopal princely state from his father's mother, Sajida Begum.
Sajida, the second daughter of Hamidullah Khan — the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal — became the legal heir of her father's properties after her elder sister Abida Begum migrated to Pakistan in 1950.
Sajida then went on to inherit the Nawab title as well as properties estimated to be worth over Rs 15,000 crore.
Sajida Sultan inherited the title of the Nawab of Bhopal. Wikimedia Commons
Sajida Begum married Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the Nawab of Pataudi. Their son was the popular cricketer, Mansoor Ali Khan 'Tiger Pataudi'. Mansoor and veteran actor Sharmila Tagore have three children — Saif, Soha, and Saba Ali Khan.
Saif Ali Khan, the grandson of Sajida and the Nawab of Pataudi, inherited a share of the Bhopal properties.
These include thousands of acres of land in and around Bhopal, along with estates such as Flag Staff House, Noor-Us-Sabah Palace Hotel, Dar-Us-Salam, and Ahmedabad Palace.
The dispute over Bhopal royal properties
A case was filed by other family members of Hamidullah Khan, including his third daughter, Rabia Begum, and his elder brother, Obaidullah Khan.
Hamidullah Khan had two wives, Maimoona Sultan and Aftab Jahan. Maimoona and Khan had three daughters: Abida Sultan, Sajida Sultan, and Rabia Sultan.
When the princely state of Bhopal merged with the Union of India in 1949, it was decided that the absolute ownership of the Nawab's personal property and the succession to the throne would be governed by the Bhopal Succession to the Throne Act, 1947.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Senior advocate Jagdish Chavan, who has represented Saif's father, told ThePrint that the Nawab's property would have gone to the eldest son as per the Bhopal Succession to the Throne Act. However, due to no male heir, Abida Sultan, the eldest daughter, would have inherited the throne and the property.
'If one goes by the succession act, Abida was the successor. But she was a resident of Pakistan and hence, the property would have simply been declared as enemy property,' Chavan said.
Sajida Sultan's husband's political friendship helped her to inherit the Nawab title and Bhopal properties.
'At the time, Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister and shared a friendship with Iftikhar Ali Khan, the grandfather of Saif Ali Khan. So, a year after the death of Nawab Hamidullah Khan, his second daughter, Sajida Sultan—after Abida Sultan—was made the successor. Sajida was married to Iftikhar,' the advocate added.
In the 1970s, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi abolished the privy purse, a payment made by the Indian government to the ruling families of former princely states as part of the merger of their states with India after Independence. Royal titles were also discontinued.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Following this, 'Maimoona Sultan and the third child, Rabiya Sultan, filed a partition suit and sought a rendition of accounts of the Nawab's property in the district court. They demanded partition under Muslim Personal Law (Shariat). This was in 1971,' Chavan told ThePrint.
Obaidullah Khan, Hamidullah Khan's brother, who also received privy purses filed another suit. The family members of Hamidullah and his brother are seeking partition and succession of the Nawab's private properties as per the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937.
In 2000, the district court in Bhopal ruled on both suits. 'As per the judgment, according to the Bhopal Throne Succession Act, 1947, and Notification of the Government of India, Sajida Sultan remained the successor of the entire property of Hamidullah Khan and no partition based on Muslim law was recognised,' Chavan said.
As the judgement was not in favour of the last ruling Nawab's other family members, they approached the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court against the trial court's order.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The appellant heirs had argued in the High Court that the trial court incorrectly made the assumption that the Nawab's private properties were part of the throne and hence would automatically go to the successor to the throne, as per Indian Express.
On June 30, the Madhya Pradesh High Court HC dismissed the 25-year-old trial court order that upheld Saif Ali Khan and his family as the rightful owners of the properties of the Nawab of Bhopal.
It also directed 'the trial Court shall make all possible efforts to conclude and decide it expeditiously, preferably within a period of one year.'
The High Court has now ordered a fresh trial. After the setback, advocate Chavan believes the Bollywood actor and his kin would only get a small part of the Bhopal royal assets.
'Saif Ali Khan, by my calculation, will receive only two to three per cent of the Nawab's property,' he was quoted as saying by the digital news outlet. 'The family isn't left with much legal recourse now.'
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
What's the Enemy Properties case?
The Bhopal royal properties that went to the Pataudi family were declared as ' enemy property' in 2014 by the Custodian of Enemy Property Department. The migration of Abida Sultan, the Nawab of Bhopal's heir apparent, to Pakistan was the government's basis for claiming the properties as 'enemy property.'
Under the Enemy Property Act, 1968, the Indian government can seize the properties and companies of individuals who took Pakistani nationality.
In 2015, the Pataudi family moved the MP High Court against the Custodian's notice. The HC put a temporary stay on the government's 'enemy property' order at the time.
Four years later, the court recognised Sajida Sultan as the Nawab's legal heir. However, in January this year, the High Court dismissed Saif's petition and lifted the stay.
It also asked the Bollywood actor to approach the appellate authority against the government order. It remains unclear whether Saif moved the tribunal by January 12.
With inputs from agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
9 minutes ago
- India.com
Released in 1985, this is the only film featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, after which they never worked together because…, film was…
In the world of Indian cinema, a remarkable film brought together three legendary actors: Kamal Haasan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Rajinikanth in the same frame. This extraordinary event in film history is fondly remembered as a unique and iconic moment. However, it marked the last time that all three were seen together on the big screen by their devoted fans. Which film is this? Here we are talking about film 'Geraftaar,' a 1985 Hindi-language action drama directed by Prayag Raaj. This movie marked the first and only time that Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, and Kamal Haasan shared the screen. While Bachchan and Haasan portrayed brothers Karan and Kishen, Rajinikanth appeared in a cameo as Inspector Hussein, a friend of Karan. Notably, Rajinikanth's scenes were primarily with Bachchan, and he did not share screen time with Haasan, as his character's arc concluded before the brothers' reunion. Geraftaar boasted a stellar ensemble cast, including Madhavi, Poonam Dhillon, Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor, and Nirupa Roy. The film's narrative, enriched by the dialogues of Kader Khan and the screenplay by KK Shukla and Prayag Raaj, combined action, drama, and emotional depth. Despite initial plans for Bachchan's role to be a guest appearance, it was expanded due to his interest in the character, leading to a more significant presence in the film. Why did Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth never feature together after Geraftaar? Following Geraftaar, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, and Rajinikanth never reunited on screen, primarily because of their escalating individual fame and demanding careers across various film industries. Each star embarked on distinct journeys, Amitabh in Bollywood, while Kamal and Rajinikanth thrived in Tamil cinema, dedicating themselves to projects that resonated with their personal and artistic aspirations. Additionally, logistical hurdles, the appropriateness of scripts, and the expectations of their fans further complicated the possibility of a reunion, leaving Geraftaar as their sole collaboration. More about Geraftaar The movie was a commercial success, grossing Rs 14 crore at the box office, which was made under the budget of Rs 3 crore at that time. It also turned out to be the highest-grossing film of the year 1985, which was bankrolled by S. Ramanathan, under the banner of Raam Raaj Kalamandir.
Indian Express
9 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2, Traitors, IPL, Kapil Sharma: How streaming is replicating television, the very beast it wanted to tame
When streaming first began in India in the early 2010s, the audience was still getting used to YouTube and the phenomenon of a 'web series,' a television show that could be watched anytime, anywhere on your smartphone or laptop, and could also be paused, rewinded, and forwarded. It was Tata Sky+ yet in a completely new medium, that gave rise to faces and brains who were struggling to get noticed by the Hindi film and TV industry. The Jio revolution in the next few years allowed the masses to access even new international streaming apps like Netflix and Prime Video, which entered the domestic market in 2017. Netflix India's first Original, Sacred Games, and Prime Video India's first original, Inside Edge, also dismantled the confines of television and demonstrated how streaming could push boundaries of what Indian entertainment came to be known as till then. Then came the pandemic in 2020-22 when India, confined to its homes, warmed up to streaming to such an extent that it'd be an ordeal to bring them back to cinemas even when the lockdowns ended. Streaming became a habit, and the Indian audience its slaves. The victim was not only cinema, but also television. Cable television and direct-to-home services, once a household necessity, were replaced by smart TVs and fire sticks. Streaming turned out to be for satellite what satellite was for VHS (Video Home System) and Doordarshan in the 1990s. But now, as cinemas and other avenues of entertainment open up after the pandemic, streaming can't sustain the skyrocketing growth it once registered in India during a couple of years. So, 2023 brought a shift in direction — the streaming, once known for being a substitute to television, started to embrace parts of the latter that appealed to India's masses. It was no longer the rebel kid, but that backbencher in a classroom who wanted to get away with the exam by peeping into the class topper's papers. Smriti Irani, former I&B Minister, recently claimed that last year, the television industry and the streaming industry accounted for a revenue of Rs 30,000 crore and Rs 24,000 crore, respectively. She rallied for the two industries to unite and generate content together instead of competing with each other. This month, she's set to reprise her iconic character of Tulsi Virani in Ekta Kapoor's landmark daily soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which will be available for viewing on both its native home StarPlus and its streaming counterpart, JioHotstar. Sameer Nair, who was the head of programming at StarPlus back in 2000 when Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi first premiered, believes the show can still work as well as it did back then, but only if the story has adapted to the times and the audience it's catering to. 'Honestly, it's not got so much to do with streaming or TV. On JioHotstar, their strong, long-performing show has always been Anupamaa. On SonyLIV, for the longest time, Bade Achhe Lagte Hain used to be their #1,' argued Nair, in an interview with SCREEN. Not every TV show with an immense recall value would fare as well on streaming, as one saw in the case of Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai – Take 2. 'I think the streaming of daily soaps allows more flexibility to its primary audience — the homemakers, the mothers, the elderly women. They get the option to access it any time of the day, something they wouldn't be able to do when it aired at a very late slot of 10:30 pm on TV,' said a former StarPlus official, who's also worked with JioHotstar. 'At that time, these women used to wait for their husbands and kids to fall asleep after watching Kaun Banega Crorepati so that they could get their guilty hour of Kyunki. But now, they can stream it anytime, without guilt! It's not just Ekta and Smriti Irani, but also the streaming that's empowering them this time,' they added. Nair, who's now the Managing Director at Applause Entertainment and collaborates with a host of streaming platforms, saw this televisionization of streaming coming from a mile. 'Streaming is just settling down now. It just means they're going for a wider audience by catering to the largest common denominator. But streaming can also cater to niches. The good thing is both can co-exist on streaming. So you can do both a Kyunki and an Adolescence. The technology allows you to do that. On TV, you could be either a GEC or a niche channel,' he reasons. Why does then an Anurag Kashyap then blame Netflix India for entering a partnership with Ekta's Balaji Telefilms instead of commissioning an Indian version of Adolescence? Why does he call Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos the 'definition of dumb' when he opines that they should've launched the platform in India with something 'more populist' than Sacred Games? 'That's because if all the energies and resources are directed towards a populist form of entertainment, then a niche or a less mainstream show has to really elbow its way in to get the streamer's attention. Streaming was supposed to enable and empower these, and not really use them as a token to show how cutting-edge they are, whenever it suits their narrative,' says a screenwriter who's worked with both Kashyap and Netflix India. When asked, on Nikhil Kamath's podcast People by WTF, to react to the shift in programming of Netflix India with CID and The Great Indian Kapil Show, he played the diversity card — If it's not for you, it's for someone else. But a former Netflix India employee claims diversity is more of a buzzword than a thought-through corporate strategy. 'Reed Hastings is an LA guy so he really cares for the movies. He's the one who started Netflix as a DVD business. He's a true disruptor,' they tell us, adding, 'But when Sarandos took over, there was a change in direction. Since every country Netflix is in is culturally so different from each other, the only common point they could find between them was diversity. And that became their corporate strategy, so to say. But make no mistake, it was always made clear that the priority is numbers.' When SCREEN asked Tanya Bami, Series Head at Netflix India, why shows like The Royals, Rana Naidu, and Mismatched got renewed despite getting a large chunk of negative reviews from critics, she said, 'Love from everyone is critical. As a human being, you seek that affirmation. But in terms of a stack order, we're very clear it's the love of the audience that matters to us.' That became very apparent with Netflix India's programming in the last three years. 'We were never categorically asked to sell some shows more. They wouldn't say that because that doesn't go with their brand image. But you figured, with the kind of people they hired or the kind of shows they greenlit, that the focus had changed. There are so many ex-Balaji faces in Netflix India now,' added the former employee. Balaji has been a champion of broadcast, but it's also tried its hands at streaming. Ekta, who has straddled cinema, TV, and OTT, believes they serve different purposes — community viewing, family viewing, and personal viewing respectively. That's why the woman behind culturally rooted, sanskari daily soaps on TV churned out tonally divergent shows like Gandii Baat and Ragini MMS: Returns on her now-defunct streaming platform ALTBalaji. But with the advent of smart TV in Indian homes, families began to increasingly watch OTT content together instead of separately on their phones. That gave rise to The Viral Fever's family-friendly shows like Gullak and Yeh Meri Family. That also explains Ekta's pivot back to what she knows best — daily soaps, but those that can be positioned as effectively on streaming as they can be on TV. Many marketing executives, who enthusiastically joined streaming platforms, in order to promote the kind of alternate content, they believed in, have now gone independent to push middle-of-the-road cinema in theatres and indie films at global festivals, and fill the gaps that have long plagued India's entertainment ecosystem. They neither know 'how to sell a Kapil Sharma' nor do they believe a Kapil Sharma needs their selling. But this coexistence of Kapil Sharma and Vir Das on a platform comes at an interesting cultural juncture for India. Sample last year, for instance: audience of both the mainstream and niche turned up in hoards to attend concerts of Diljt Dosanjh, a grounded Punjabi popstar, as well as Coldplay, a British rock-pop band. That's also why an audience that once looked down upon Bigg Boss or similar reality shows are now lapping up The Traitors, the Indian adaptation of the globally resonant American show, on Prime Video. 'I think they've hit the sweet spot with that one. Unlike some versions in the West, they've taken a bunch of internet celebrities and made a reality show with them that just has high production value than say, a Bigg Boss,' points out an industry insider. 'Having Karan Johar to host it with all his campness intact is a masterstroke — he's one celebrity who gets equal attention from the classes and the masses, whether it's love or hate,' adds another. Instead of the crassness associated with Bigg Boss and MTV reality shows like Roadies and Splitsvilla, Traitors rolls out like a saucy game of chess — pretty much like a very expensive, lived-in version of board games like Shasn and Cards Against Humanity. 'For every Traitors, there should be a Stolen. But the fact is for every Traitors, there's also a Khauf, a brilliant horror show that goes under the radar,' says a former employee of Prime Video India, adding, 'Streamers made quick money during the pandemic by not just having a captive audience, but also buying ready, big-budget films from production houses waiting to release their films in endless lockdowns. They've grown used to that licensing model. So they're just picking up anything and everything that's worked in the past, whether from films, sports or TV, instead of developing envelope-pushing content like they did pre-pandemic. Which is why you see how the slate of originals has gone down drastically. Licensed shows which happen to work in the first season are then adopted and then developed like it was their own baby to begin with.' If picking existing IPs from TV wasn't enough, streaming has also stooped down to advertisement revenue in order to sustain. Prime Video is the most recent platform to introduce ads and an ad-free premium version, as per the YouTube and Spotify revenue model. 'India is a price-sensitive country, so even if you give us the option to pay more and get rid of ads, we'd stick to the ads,' says a former Netflix India employee. They claim that commercials on streaming isn't new to India, but the hullabaloo is about the way Prime imposed it. 'At Netflix, there were designated employees for this job, who scientifically picked points when it could switch to commercial in a way that the audience don't lose interest. It was transparent and gradual, unlike the blindsiding that Prime has done now,' they add. Also Read — Sameer Nair feels Indian adaptation of The Office would do far better today: 'Market was smaller then, wanted to do 11 seasons like US' Is it really only about the transparency? Should streamers just own it that they want to go where TV did and accept that the daily soaps, broad comedy, reality shows, advertisements, and sports entertainment are their mainstays? The life-sized hoardings of WWE on the Mumbai expressways tell that very story. But is it a bad deal if IPL gets more consumers to subscribe to JioHotstar so they could watch a School of Lies that they otherwise wouldn't? 'I don't see it that way. Would I really count my show as a success story if it excels in the same months that IPL airs? It's a good way to show numbers and ask for an appraisal, but those who're doing this for creative reasons deserve better.' Going back to television is a disservice to the innovation of streaming. As iconic comedian Milton Berle so wisely put it, 'We owe a lot to Thomas Edison. If it wasn't for him, we'd be watching television by candlelight.'
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu' box office collection day 1: Pawan Kalyan's epic opens strong; mints Rs 44.20 cr
(Picture Courtesy: Facebook) Pawan Kalyan 's much-anticipated period film 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu – Part 1: Sword vs Spirit' finally arrived in cinemas, and as expected, the film opened to a powerful box office debut. Despite its long delays and production hurdles, the film saw massive turnout, especially in the Telugu states. Early estimates from Sacnilk suggest that the film collected Rs 31.50 crore on Day 1 (Thursday) in India across all languages, adding to the Rs 12.7 crore it had already grossed in paid premieres a day prior. This brings its total collection to Rs 44.20 crore which is a solid start by any measure. Hari Hara Veera Mallu Movie Review Occupancy reflects mixed momentum Reportedly, the Telugu version recorded a strong average occupancy of 57.39% on its opening day. Regions like Hyderabad (66.75%) and Vijayawada (77%) showed consistent footfalls throughout the day. Morning shows across most Telugu-speaking areas witnessed a sharp start. The numbers stayed reasonably high in evening and night shows. Hindi occupancy hovered around 12.43%, while Kannada and Tamil versions trailed at 9.96% and 8.24% respectively. Hari Hara Veera Mallu | Song - Evaradi Evaradi Will it hold through the weekend? While the box office numbers are impressive, the mixed reception might affect the film's trajectory in the coming days. Initial reviews have praised Pawan Kalyan's presence and the scale of the production. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Access all TV channels anywhere, anytime Techno Mag Learn More Undo Mixed reviews raised concerns about pacing and visual effects. ETimes gave the film a rating of 2.5 stars out of 5 and our review reads, "Hari Hara Veera Mallu might appeal to Pawan Kalyan's core fanbase and those drawn to visually grand period dramas with action and mythic flair. For most viewers, however, it may feel like a missed opportunity — a film rich in ambition but short on cohesion. Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1 – Sword vs Spirit rides on Pawan Kalyan's charisma and MM Keeravaani's compelling score, but falters in storytelling, visual polish, and emotional depth. It is an ambitious spectacle that only occasionally lives up to its potential." With a runtime nearing three hours and expectations sky-high, it remains to be seen whether 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu' can maintain its momentum beyond the opening weekend. The film also has Nidhhi Agerwal, Bobby Deol, Nargis Fakhri, Nora Fatehi, and others in pivotal roles.
