Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan opened up months after her husband, actor Saif Ali Khan, was stabbed at their residence in Bandra, Mumbai, on January 16. Following the attack, a 2.5-inch piece of the blade was surgically removed from his spine after a five-hour-long procedure at Lilavati Hospital. The actress revealed she is 'still struggling' with the emotional toll of seeing someone attacked in the very room shared by their sons, Taimur and Jeh.
Speaking to Barkha Dutt on Mojo Story, Kareena said that such incidents are rarely heard of in Mumbai, unlike in the US where they are more common, and that she still hasn't fully come to terms with it. The actress shared that she was extremely anxious for the first couple of months, struggling to sleep and to return to a sense of normalcy. She added, "With time, I realised that the memory fades more and more. It's there in your heart. It is like death. When you lose someone, you never really get over it. That's what I have always perceived – that you never really get over that. I don't want to live in that fear for my children because that's also wrong to put that stress onto them."
Kareena said it has been a tough journey navigating the fear and anxiety while balancing her roles as a mother and a wife. She shared that it took a lot of emotional understanding to come to terms with the situation and accept that this is something she has to live with. Kareena added that she's just grateful and thanks God that everyone is safe.
Sharing her 4-year-old son Jeh's reaction, Kareena said that he believes Saif is an 'Batman' or 'Iron Man'. She expressed hope that her sons grows up with a unique kind of resilience, having witnessed their father go through such a traumatic experience.
"They have seen blood and everything, but that trauma I somehow feel will make Taimur and Jeh a lot more of a different kind of man. They have also been so sheltered, and then, they have suddenly seen this. Somehow, I feel it's an experience that has brought them out of that shelter and a little more into reality that this can actually happen. Of course, they shouldn't have seen it. But I have to look at something out of it that's going to come, and I am just hoping that's what is going to come out of it," added Kareena.
When asked how she is dealing with the trauma personally, Kareena revealed that, as a mother, she’s trying not to pass on her stress and anxiety to her sons. However, as an individual, the incident has left her 'shaken to the core.' She added that Saif often reminds her that they can’t live in constant fear.
The attack took place when an intruder, later identified as Mohd Shariful Islam Shehzad, entered the actor's home with the alleged intent of theft.
