Saif Ali Khan: Timur's son's name was Shah Rukh but nobody has a problem with it!

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan were blessed with a baby boy in December 2016. They named their prince Taimur Ali Khan and what followed next was a massive controversy.

The new parents of tinsel town were slammed on social media for naming their son Taimur, as the name resembled Emperor Timur Lang, who has been believed to be responsible for a brutal massacre which saw thousands of Indians killed in 1399 AD.

Saif was recently asked about the entire controversy in an interview and the actor opened up like never before. Quiz Saif if he was affected by the controversy, and he said, "Yes, even today. My daughter told me, why don't you say that you have not named him after Timur Lang, say that's Timur and this is Taimur. I said it still sounds similar. She says just say they have same roots. The name is nice and it sounds good and it means something nice but it is not named after that guy. Well, yes, the name is the same, but the name also predates the person called Timur Lang. Incidentally, Timur Lang's son was Shah Rukh, who is the guy who supposedly said we should actually plunder India. A lot of fighting was done by his sons, but nobody has a problem with the name Shah Rukh (laughs)."

He adds, "I think. Also, a part of me has realized that if a select few are happy with you, universal acceptance is not required because this kind of populist approval means something scary. I would rather have a handful of people whose opinion I respect, agree with me, that's enough. I don't want universal approval if it's going to require me to pretend."

"Anything you do anywhere ends up on the net, it's all over, anything you say. Why do it yourself? Let's go back to get other people do it for you and do what you want. Hopefully, as priests interpret scriptures, a good journalist can omit some crap you said and kind of guide your conversation into the right way. I prefer the old way, uncensored is a bit dangerous for someone like me (laughs). You know, actually - I haven't told anyone this - I thought for a second about changing his name. For a couple of weeks. And Kareena was a little against it and she said, 'People respect you for your opinion and you can't'... So I said, yeah, but it's not about people. I don't want him to get unpopular. And I still might, maybe when he's one or two, I might change his name in a while, it's still sinking in, what to do. Someone in my PR agreed with me, and we drafted a small letter. And when I read it, it was so pathetic, that I cancelled the idea. Because it was really like, uhh, 'I'm sorry', and 'I didn't want to offend' and 'I'm an idiot' (laughs), and you know, I've given in to pressure. It just sounded awful. However you write it, it just wasn't sounding right. It was like I didn't realise where I live or what I'm doing. So I did think about it. I thought about it, but it was for the wrong reason," states Saif, adding further, "If I feel that he's going to get in trouble in school, I might change it still. It's a bit late now though. Or not. I don't know. You wouldn't want him to be known as the boy who was originally called Taimur, would you? Even if you now call him Akbar, he'll have to carry this with him anyway. Why make him be apologetic about this forever."

Saif went on to reveal how fierce little Taimur is and what he is fondly called in the house. "Tim, that's what he's called (laughs). Tim Khan. Tim Pataudi. Timmy, Tim... What's your name? Taimur if it comes in... He's quite a fiery guy though, I must say. I hope he doesn't already understand that it's a strong name. He makes his feelings felt very strongly. Yells, not cries. Stop doing what you're doing and he's fine (laughs)," concludes the actor.

Cute, we say!