In his first interview after the attack, Saif Ali Khan thanks his well-wishers and also answers the cynics

THE INCIDENT

What happened that night?

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'I saw this guy holding (what I thought were) two sticks over Jeh’s bed – it was actually a hexa blade'

You didn’t realise it was a knife?

Saif: I fought with him, but I couldn’t handle it after a while because there were these two knives in action

Jeh was sleeping all this while?

The intruder had escaped by then?

Was Taimur composed?

THE HOSPITAL

Did you actually walk into the hospital the way the doctor described – covered in blood and with Taimur by your side?

'It’s not possible to cut somebody’s neck the way my neck is cut, and not kill them'

When did you begin to sort of understand that this is serious? When did you first hear about this ‘one millimetre short of paralysis’?

That’s what gives rise to conspiracy theories that, he was this close to paralysis, how is he then strolling around like this?

THE COMMENTARY

There has been some degree of chatter about how come nobody drives? Why did it take him two hours to reach the hospital?

And people on social media asking – arey, such rich people, no driver at home at night?

And you could not have just called the driver at 3am?

‘Was he acting?’ ‘Garbage’ – Any responses for this sort of language being used after the attack?

Saif with auto driver Bhajan Singh Rana

THE WALK BACK TO NORMALCY

You had a very lucky day, basically.

But when you walk out of the hospital that casually, it doesn’t look like you had a brush with death.

How has the family reacted?

How’s Kareena holding up?

Does living in Mumbai, or the society you are in, feel unsafe to you now?

What I am getting from you is that there is no massive sense of a rebooting of life or paranoia. This is not a Monica Seles moment where an assailant with a knife changes your life’s trajectory?

Let’s talk about this ‘somebody’. What does the family feel about him? What do you feel?

Why don’t you have a gun?

So, you haven’t kept any weapons in the Mumbai home?

But you still won’t?

So, very cliched question, but if you had to enter that room again, would you have done anything differently?

Amma was very protective: Saif

Did you get a lecture from Amma?

Which one?

Was this a ‘real’ attack? How can someone get into a celeb’s house like that? Why would he need an autorickshaw? Did he really go with Taimur? What, there was a knife stuck in his back and he was still coherent?