"What next? I keep asking myself that question repeatedly," says Saif Ali Khan, who discovered a new facet to himself this Father's Day when his father Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was behind bars in a Haryana prison.

Father's Day Sunday saw Pataudi in judicial custody in Jhajjar after being arrested on charges of killing an endangered blackbuck. And son Saif is distraught.

"I don't claim to be the ideal son. Who is? But this incident has certainly brought me closer to my dad. I was scared of him earlier. Now when he's landed up in trouble I feel protective."

Saif was in Kolkata to promote his new film "Parineeta". "The film is doing well here. It's my first brush with a Bengali milieu. I wish I could enjoy the attention," Saif told from the hometown of his mother, Sharmila Tagore.

"But right now the success of 'Parineeta' seems so distant. I'm so stressed by what's happening to my father, I'm falling apart."

His father surrendered Saturday, after having been in hiding since June 3 when he was found with the carcass of a blackbuck.

Said Saif: "Dad has given himself over to the law, and that's really cool. He's being very brave. He has broken the law, but it doesn't feel that way to me. I admire him for taking the right decision. My mom, elder sis and I have been stressing so much... it's not healthy for any of us."

Saif has been in touch with mom throughout. Younger sis Soha is in Italy shooting for David Dhawan's "Shaadi No.1". "I've told her not to worry at all. This is my responsibility, my burden. I want to take care of it all by myself. Mom is there. And we'll manage. Sure, Dad has been denied anticipatory bail. But now we're hopeful he'll get bail and he'll be out soon."

Saif sounds uncharacteristically optimistic and decisive.

"Life teaches you so much in so little time. I feel I've changed as a person ever since dad got into trouble. It's as though I've finally grown up. I hope I can prove a worthy son during this hour of crisis in the family," said Saif softly.