Saif Ali Khan has finally spoken about the worst night of his life in full, and it is every bit as harrowing as the headlines suggested when it happened. In the latest episode of Koffee With Karan 9, Saif and his wife Kareena Kapoor Khan sat down together on Karan Johar’s couch for the first time in 16 years, and the conversation turned to the January 2025 knife attack at their Mumbai home that left the actor fighting for his life.
What followed was one of the most candid celebrity interviews of the year. Saif described being stabbed about 10 times while protecting his younger son Jeh, and Kareena recalled screaming on the road as she tried to flag down an autorickshaw. Both admitted the night has stayed with them far longer than the wounds did.
The night that changed everything
The attack took place in the early hours of January 16, 2025, at around 2 am, when an intruder entered the couple’s Bandra home. Reports from the time said the intruder demanded Rs 1 crore and entered the room of their younger son, Jeh. Saif confronted him, and the struggle that followed lasted only moments.
“He stabbed me about ten times. It all happened very quickly. I think perhaps because of my Hindi cinema instinct, I attacked him in the first place. There was a sense of outrage that he was standing over my son with a knife,” Saif said on the show.
Saif said he knew he was in serious trouble the moment he felt the cuts. “I knew I was alright, because I was bleeding. But that is crazy, there was cut in my, that were quite deep and long, like jagged cuts,” he recalled. A piece of the knife had broken off close to his spinal cord and briefly affected the feeling in his leg. Doctors later had to move nerves to remove the fragment.
Kareena’s run for help
Kareena’s account of the minutes after the attack is the part of the episode that has stayed with viewers. With Saif bleeding heavily and struggling to walk, she ran out onto the road in her night T-shirt, shouting at passing vehicles to stop.
“I was screaming on the road. I was like, ‘Ruko, ruko.’ It was like a movie scene. I didn’t have the time to put on my pyjamas. I have run on the road,” Kareena said.
Saif was rushed to Lilavati Hospital in an autorickshaw, where he underwent a six-hour surgery and was discharged five days later. Kareena said she was completely shattered by what she had seen, and she found it difficult to sleep properly for nearly six months after the attack.
Jeh, the plastic sword and Iron Man
The most moving part of the conversation concerned their younger son Jeh, who witnessed the confrontation. Saif said the little boy handed him his plastic sword afterwards and told him to use it if the thief returned. Jeh kept the plastic sword with his father for a couple of months after the attack.
“Jeh gave me his plastic sword and said, ‘Next time that thief comes, use this. For a couple of months after that, he kind of kept the plastic sword with me. So, the whole thing happened in front of him, the fight and all and he thinks I am a great protector. He thinks I am Iron Man,” Saif said.
The attacker, Mohammed Shariful, was arrested three days after the incident, and his trial opened in October 2026 after the court rejected his guilty plea. Saif said the attack changed his view of safety at home. “People should be careful. I am sorry to say that in today’s world, but a little bit of security is probably required because I think the world is slightly more unsafe than it was when we were younger,” he said.
The episode is the fourth of Koffee With Karan’s ninth and final season. Beyond the attack, the couple also shared lighter moments, including Saif revealing that Kareena does not talk after 10 pm, which she laughed off as her “me time”. But it is the honesty about that January night that viewers will remember longest.
FAQs
What did Saif Ali Khan say about the knife attack on Koffee With Karan 9?
Saif said the intruder stabbed him about 10 times in a fight lasting only moments, and that he attacked first because the man stood over his young son Jeh with a knife.
When did the attack on Saif Ali Khan happen?
The attack took place in the early hours of January 16, 2025, at around 2 am, when an intruder entered the actor’s Mumbai home and entered his younger son’s room.
How did Kareena Kapoor get Saif to the hospital?
Kareena ran onto the road in her nightwear, screaming “Ruko, ruko” at passing vehicles, and flagged down an autorickshaw that took him to Lilavati Hospital.
What happened to the attacker?
The attacker, Mohammed Shariful, was arrested three days after the incident, and his trial opened in October 2026 after the court rejected his guilty plea.
Which episode of Koffee With Karan 9 features Saif and Kareena?
They appear together in Episode 4 of Season 9, the show’s final season, their first joint appearance on the couch in 16 years.
Saif and Kareena’s conversation is a reminder that behind the glamour, even the biggest stars carry nights they would rather forget.
