'We felt doubly deprived to lose Amrita and the two kids': When Sharmila Tagore opened up on Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh’s divorce

In a landmark episode of 'Koffee With Karan' Season 8, veteran and legendary actress Sharmila Tagore joined her son, Saif Ali Khan, for a rare and deeply personal conversation with Karan Johar. The duo revisited the "Nawab's" impulsive 1991 marriage to

Amrita Singh

, the family's shock, and the eventual "not so harmonious" separation that left the Pataudi family feeling "doubly deprived."

Saif Ali Khan opens up on his wedding to Amrita Singh

On KWK 8, host Karan Johar kicked off the discussion by recalling how Saif’s sister, Soha Ali Khan, learned about the wedding to Amrita Singh from a school classmate. Reflecting on that impulsive decision, Khan admitted he was looking for a sense of belonging."It was kind of like running away from home in a sense. I don't remember so many things going on and I found a kind of security and an idea that it feels great. I thought I could make a home out of that," Saif explained.Sharmila Tagore described her visceral reaction when Saif broke the news in Mumbai, "Actually I was visiting Mumbai for something and Saif came to me, to meet me. And he said I have something to tell you and he told me... Amma you're quiet and your colour is changing and you are looking different... The next day I called Amrita and we had tea and we chatted, but still quite shocked."Saif Ali Khan further detailed the emotional weight of that moment, "She (Sharmila Tagore) had said, I believe you are living with someone and you are doing something.

So I said yes and she said that don't get married. And I said that I got married yesterday. And a big tear fell off of her eye. She started crying and she said, you really hurt me, why didn't you tell me."

Sharmila Tagore reflects on the separation between Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh

Despite the initial shock, Sharmila Tagore grew fond of Amrita, noting that the couple shared a similar, sharp wit. "Both of them were very similar. Both of them were very funny. Whenever they would talk, it would be a lot of laughter, mimicking other people, tearing somebody to bits in a funny way...

They looked really happy together," she noted.The conversation then took a sombre turn when discussing the couple's 2004 divorce. While the veteran actress admitted the split was difficult for the entire family, particularly the late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (Tiger), who lost precious time with his grandson, Ibrahim. She revealed, "When you are together for such a long time and you have such lovely children, then no breakup is easy...

everybody is hurt... so that stage was not nice but I tried.

But that's water under the bridge, she needed time to cool down."The actress also went on to reveal that the family felt the loss of their daughter-in-law as much as the distance from the children, "It wasn't a happy time for us because Ibrahim was just three and we were very fond of the children. Especially, Tiger was really fond of Ibrahim... So we felt doubly deprived to lose Amrita and lose the two kids."Notably, Saif Ali Khan credits his mother for her unconditional support during the darkest days of the separation."About the separation, the first person I spoke to before the separation was my mother, who took a deep breath and there was another pause on the phone and said, I am with you if that is what you want and that helped a lot," the 'Omkara' star revealed

Present day dynamics

Cut to 2025, Saif Ali Khan is happily married to

Kareena Kapoor Khan

, since 2012 and has two kids, Taimur and Jeh. The family maintains a respectful, modern dynamic with his kids from first marriage to Amrita Singh, Sara and

Ibrahim Ali Khan

.