In Sara we stan.

Talk about breaking the internet and actually going ahead and doing it. Well. Sara Ali Khan did that. She’s been trending ever since the first of her interviews aired, and if that doesn’t get her contemporaries shaking in their stilettos, I’m not quite sure what will. 

This week’s episode featuring the suave ‘nawab’, Saif Ali Khan and his delightfully articulate and earnest daughter Sara was something of a delight, all the more because it captured the chilled vibe that both father and daughter share and because a lot of their answers and quips were firmly tongue in cheek. And that definitely gets a few brownie points, at least in my book.

The episode was so engaging that we even forgave host Karan Johar those blindingly red sneakers and his cringe-worthy self-deprecating digs as he began the show with his standard incessant waffle, which quite frankly, had very little to do with the guests.

As dapper dad and sophisticated and sassy daughter got their groove we got interesting anecdotes into their insanely modern family, where they talked about the unconventional bond that exists between Saif’s once estranged ex-wife (Amrita Singh for those in the dark), his current wife, Kareena Kapoor Khan and of course, how Sara’s come to terms with it all. Especially endearing was their playful camaraderie between the ‘dynamic duo’ and Saif’s revelation about how he sent Amrita a heartfelt letter right before he was marrying Kareena, or the fact that it was Amrita who got Sara ready for the wedding. If that isn’t grown up and classy I’m not sure what is! 

The portion where Sara rather wisely spoke about how Dapper Dad (that title sticks by the way), derives happiness from other sources (books, friends, family) and is the least bothered about box-office results was candid and came from a place that was genuine, and perhaps credit here needs to go to someone who wasn’t on the show - it was Amrita Singh who was predominantly responsible for raising Sara, and the stellar job she did of it, is there for everyone to see.

Sara doesn’t give off debutante vibes at all - she ain’t camera shy that’s for sure (clips of her from her teenage years proved that!), she doesn’t parade around hiding behind dumb giggles - but rather, has an air of authenticity and self confidence that is inevitably going to take her far in the business, so long as she doesn’t lose her way. 

Inevitably, there was a whole portion dedicated to paparazzi darling, Taimur Ali Khan (Saif and Kareena’s first born for the uninformed) and how he’s ‘broken the internet’ every time he’s made an appearance. The pap interviews during this portion were a genius idea - more so because the paps get so much flack, and instead, here we got a very brief insight into how they operate and how there’s a market for the photos and tidbits they eventually capture. I for one definitely want to take a look at this supposed ‘rate card’ and see how the who’s who rank in the pecking order. Apparently Taimur is right up there.

For once, the Rapid Fire was genuine fun - Sara had done her homework, so her answers were witty and clever, especially her take on Tinder bios (Varun: ‘Palat tera hero idhar hai’; Ranveer ‘I dare you to swipe left’; ‘Taimur: A prince not an invader) and unsurprisingly she nicked the hamper from right under ‘abba’s’ nose with those wisecracks. Saif on his part, was quite the sport about it, and even seemed a little proud of the answers his daughter had dished out!

The show ended on a face off aptly titled ‘Talk till you drop’, where the duo had to be quick on their toes and ping pong between each other on topics from celebrities to Indian History, and admittedly, this was way more engaging than randomly calling an unsuspecting celebrity to say some pointless sentence over the phone.

I’ve probably said this week on week, but this was by far the most enjoyable episode purely because it was fun to have an insight into who the celebrities are as people as opposed to who’s marrying whom and addressing elephants in the room which are anything but! Sara and Saif were polished, classy and gracious and their answers had a sense of ‘I don’t take this too seriously, but am willing to go for the ride’ air about them.

Side note: I’d love to have been a fly on the wall for when Saif, Sara and Kareena went to the museum – that’s a reality show waiting to take off!

More of this please Karan.