'Saif will be anointed next Nawab of Pataudi'

Filmstar Saif Ali Khan, son of former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan, will be anointed the next nawab of Pataudi, his sister Saba Ali Khan said here Monday.

Saba -- patron of the Auqaf-e-Shahi or the body managing the religious and charitable endowments of the erstwhile princely state -- put an end to speculation over Saif's reluctance to be the next nawab.

"After forty days of Abba's demise, a simple pagdi ceremony will be held at Pataudi village (in Gurgaon), in which Saif will be declared the next nawab of Patuadi," she said.

However, she did not state the date of the function. "The date and time has not been finalised yet as it will be decided by Amma (actress Sharmila Tagore) 40 days after Abba's demise," she added.

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi breathed his last on September 22 in Delhi. Pataudi, whose mother was the daughter of the last nawab of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan, was born in Bhopal and was the mutawalli (patron) of the Auqaf-e-Shahi.