Debutante actress and social butterfly, Soha Ali Khan, may be under the strobe lights because of her formidable gene pool but there's more to her than blue-blooded ancestry

Diminutive and delicate as a porcelain doll in appearance, Nawabzadi Soha Ali Khan is anything but fragile. The doe-eyed beauty fields queries with the aplomb of a cricketer in his prime. It is not easy being the offspring of famous parents, yet the youngest child of Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan (Tiger) Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore wears her pedigree with practised ease.

To trade the trappings of royalty for survival in the intimidating world of glamour…to be constantly measured against standards set by her illustrious mother and her now famous, now notorious brother…to work hard at cultivating her innate talents with hours of tedious training in diction, dance and drama…this princess is one tough cookie!

Soha says she imbibed her strong values during her childhood spent in Delhi, attending the British School at Chanakyapuri. Armed with a degree in modern history and economics from Oxford, England, she studied international relations at the London School of Economics, then moved to Mumbai, where she worked as an associate banker with Citibank.

Rubbishing reports about her father's opposition to her career switch, Soha claims she has his wholehearted support. "He was like: we have brought you up to think for yourself, you know your strengths and weaknesses, you know where your passions lie and if you feel that you have to, then you must do it". Tiger's cub was trained well, for though acting was always 'at the front' of her mind, she made a strategic decision to delay taking it up professionally. "There are various things I value. One is education. I also felt it was important to get some corporate experience, as working in a team would help me as a human being," explains the budding actress who, when she was younger, performed for her parents along with her siblings. "We did a lot of skits for them," she recalls.

Ever since she moved out of bhaiya, Saif's home and into an apartment of her own nearby, Soha is revelling in her newfound freedom. "You mature a lot when you have your own space," she reflects. "I thought I was quite grown up at university, but remembering to pay your bills, looking after yourself, remembering your keys, now that's an experience. I like it here," says the house-proud princess, drawing my attention to the red corridor that is her personal favourite.

"In Delhi, I lived with my parents, so there was a certain amount of protection and dependence," she admits, insisting that life at home was very normal, though a tad formal. "There were elements of tradition and culture, a particular way of greeting your parents, dressing and sitting at the table." Celebrations of traditional festivals underscored their imperial antecedents and she and her siblings became more conscious of their legacy during visits to Pataudi.

But the little princess believes that her distinction comes from who her parents are as individuals, rather than her father's royal gene pool and her mother's name on the marquee. "They're very warm, attentive, supportive parents, and that helps tremendously. You get an identity, a sense of security, a family support system."

The early nurturing was balanced with her very egalitarian school. "Everybody was somebody, there were children of diplomats and industrialists. When you came to school, all that was stripped away." Then, she spent four years studying abroad. "There, nobody cares whose daughter you are or where you live. So that was good, as well," she claims.

Her pet passion eventually brought her to the city of dreams, where she juggles promoting diamond jewellery and skin radiating creams with acting in films like the forthcoming Dil Maange More. "Mumbai is a place where people judge you on your merit," says Soha, back from a shooting stint for Antar Mahal in Kolkata and awaiting the release of her first Bengali film, Shrikanto. What more can a modern-day princess ask for?