Soha Ali Khan has spoken about how her favourite toy, whom she lovingly named Eliott, shaped her childhood and also revealed that she passed it down to her daughter, Inaaya Naumi Kemmu, as the actress wanted her little one to experience the same joy of creating her own little world.
In a nostalgic video, Soha reflected on her favourite childhood companion, a stuffed toy dog named Elliot, and the countless adventures she created alongside her siblings, Saif Ali Khan and Saba Ali Khan. Soha shared in the video: “One of my most favourite summer vacation memories is just sitting with Bhai, with my sister Apa and making up stories around Elliot.
One of us would start the story, another would continue it, and third would add a twist; and by the end of the afternoon, Elliot had travelled the world, solved mysteries, and made the most unlikely friends.” The actress recalled how her brother Saif Ali Khan would “hide clues around the house” and her sister Saba Ali Khan Pataudi “would draw up a treasure map.”
She added: “And I would lead the investigation through Elliot. I remember entire afternoons just disappearing as we solved mysteries that basically existed only in our imaginations.” “It was never really about the toy itself. It was about everything our imagination allowed it to become,” she said.
Soha sees those same qualities come alive in her daughter, Inaaya. “When Inaaya was born, I really wanted her to experience that same joy of creating her own little world, so starting with Elliot; I gave Elliot to her and now her favourite toy is stuffed animals.
One day she is reading to them, she's cooking for them, she's teaching them lessons,” she shared. Soha said that watching her imagination take over is “honestly one of my favourite things.” The actress took to the caption section, where she mentioned that “a toy is never just a toy.”
“It’s an adventure waiting to happen - a window to imagination, create, and the beginning of some of our most cherished childhood memories. I watched my first #ToyStory movie with my family and the legacy has been such a big part of my childhood and growing up years!”
She added: “As Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 releases in cinemas, what I love most is that this new chapter not only reunites us with Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie and the gang, but also asks a very important question for today’s children and parents: how do we continue to nurture imagination in a world increasingly shaped by screens?” Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5 releases in India on June 19.