Soha Ali Khan launches first book 'The Perils Of Being Moderately Famous' in presence of Pataudi clan
“If there is one person I am in awe of in this family, it is Soha... she is the torch-bearer of this family,” said Kareena Kapoor Khan at the launch of her sister-in-law, Soha Ali Khan’s debut book, The Perils Of Being Moderately Famous, in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The entire Pataudi clan turned up at the event to show their support to Soha, who not only began a new chapter of motherhood but also that of an author. While Kareena chose to wear a dazzling red bodycon dress, her husband Saif Ali Khan kept it regal in his traditional attire. Soha’s sister, Saba, mother Sharmila Tagore and actor-husband, Kunal Kemmu, were also present to celebrate Soha’s big day. Earlier, on Tuesday, Soha had posted a picture of her daughter Inaaya posing and 'reading' her book.
Sneak peek!! Guess who’s reading an advance copy of #theperilsofbeingmoderatelyfamous 😃😍 #joysofreading @PenguinIndia pic.twitter.com/eGVWOHCmIO
— Soha Ali Khan (@sakpataudi) December 11, 2017
The evening was sprinkled with huge doses of laughter as the family revealed interesting anecdotes of Soha’s life that they wittily called 'The Perils of Knowing Soha'. And large doses of humor also came in when Saif read out a chapter describing how his sister ends up facing questions about her famous brother, sister-in-law and now their little son, Taimur, who became a celebrity right from his birth.
Not surprisingly so, in the book, Soha has written about finding herself in different capacities, as legendary cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi's daughter, and mother as famous as Sharmila Tagore. How it is to be recognised as Saif Ali Khan’s sister and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s sister-in-law? Where does she stand among them? In fact, Sohahas said earlier in an interview, “There are all sorts of famous personalities. For the most part of my life, I was completely non-famous. My only identity was I was a sibling or a daughter of these other famous people."
Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sharmila Tagore, Soha Ali Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Kunal Kemmu at the book launch of The Perils Of Being Moderately Famous
Besides their warm family ties which was quite visible when they were on stage, reading excerpts from the book — a collection of personal essays — and sharing anecdotes from Soha’s life, power couple, Saif and Kareena were very particular about not stealing the limelight from the author, so much so that they quietly sneaked out while Soha was interacting with guests post event. Saif was heard telling the lensmen: "Arre, you guys meet me almost everyday."
Before reading an excerpt from the book, a gracious Sharmila Tagore said she felt like she was attending Soha’s debut film premiere. Sharmila said, “It is like being at the premiere of Iti Srikanta (Soha Ali Khan’s debut Bengali film). It was Soha’s first film and today is also a kind of debut.”
After this event, Tagore was asked if she would like to write a book one day, since she has been around in the industry for so long, and had an interesting life herself. To this, Sharmila said she has been wanting to write a book but did not have the kind of dedication it needs. She said, “I think that’s a wonderful idea, I have definitely been thinking but I have not put pen to paper, and Soha has beaten me to it. Maybe Soha can write my book.”
Since Saif is an avid reader, too, one wondered, if he ever thought of writing a book, and to this, Saif said that he would love to write a horror story or a political satire. He said, “Yes, ghost stories. Chilling tales of life in the movie industry. I’d like to write a book on something like that or political satire or comedy. So, it would be comedy, political satire of horror. I am not sure.”
Soha's book also features her journey of growing up as a modern-day 'princess' and her days at Balliol College, to life as a celebrity in the times of social media culture, and finding love in the most unlikely of places. And here is when her husband Kunal, who has been promoting Soha's book, read out the chapter about their first meeting at the story sitting of their film, Dhoondte Reh Jaoge, in 2008.
And the evening ended with the most obvious — the curiosity over Saif and Kareena's plans for son Taimur's first birthday, on 20 December. The couple, who looked in a jovial mood, avoided the question. They immediately got up from their seats while laughing out loud as if they had seen it coming.
