In January 2025, actor Saif Ali Khan faced a terrifying ordeal when an intruder broke into his Mumbai home in the middle of the night. The incident took a dangerous turn when Saif, in an attempt to protect his family, was stabbed in the back during a confrontation with the intruder.

The incident unfolded after midnight when the intruder gained access to the apartment, reportedly through his younger son Jeh's bedroom. The household staff noticed the intrusion and immediately raised an alarm. Saif rushed to the scene where the intruder was reaching for his son, Jeh, and a scuffle ensued. During this confrontation, Saif was stabbed in the back.

In a recent interview, Saif recounted the harrowing experience, stating that as he lay on the floor, wounded, his life flashed before his eyes. He described feeling a sense of luck, recognizing how close he had come to a fatal outcome. "There's this crazy sense of how lucky one is because [the knife attack] was damn close. And to walk away relatively unscathed is nothing short of miraculous,” Saif shared.

Saif recalled memories of his life rushing back to him in that vulnerable moment – his time at Winchester, his travels, moments shared with loved ones, his wife, and his children. Despite the chaos and the severity of the situation, he felt a strange sense of calm, possibly fueled by adrenaline.

After the attacker fled, a piece of the weapon remained lodged in Saif's back. Instead of waiting for a car or ambulance, Saif, accompanied by his elder son Taimur and a member of the household staff, Hari, took an auto rickshaw to the hospital. Despite seeing his father covered in blood, Taimur remained calm.

At the hospital, doctors discovered that the knife blade had penetrated his spinal area, narrowly missing critical veins. Saif underwent a six-hour surgery to remove the knife and repair the spinal damage. Doctors later informed him that he had narrowly escaped paralysis. According to Dr. Nitin Dange, the surgery was performed to remove the knife and repair leaking spinal fluid. The actor also had two deep wounds on his left hand and one on his neck repaired.

Saif has expressed a sense of responsibility for the incident, acknowledging that he may not have properly secured that part of the house. He also stated that he doesn't believe in having guns in the house, fearing accidents or children gaining access to them. Despite the attack, Saif maintains that Mumbai is a safe city and refuses to let the incident alter his way of life. He now carries 30 scars from the attack.