Taimur’s son was Shah Rukh: Saif Ali Khan breaks his silence over son’s name

When Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan were blessed with a baby boy, little did they imagine the controversy that would erupt over his name, Taimur. A section of the society went up in arms against them after they came to know that there was a 14th-century ruler of the same name who was responsible for killing innocent people to gain power. 

Now, Saif has finally broken his silence and spoken at length on the issue. Speaking to a leading news channel, he started off sharing the reason behind naming his son Taimur and how there was no controversy in the past against people with the same name. 

He said, “I have known a couple of people named Taimur when I was growing up. There was no drama then. It is just a nice name. It means iron and it’s a strong, beautiful sounding name. I have not named Taimur after him. I think he was Timur and this is Taimur. I mean, they sound similar. But the reason I named him was because of its sound and a family connection. Also to judge the past by today’s length is a little far out. Name doesn’t really mean anything. Ashok is a violent name.”

Saif brought up an interesting observation related to the name of the son of the Turkish emperor. “That emperor’s most able general was his son and his name was Shah Rukh. So, if we start getting into whether names are right or wrong, we will be changing everyone’s names (laughs),” he added. 

The actor also touched upon the controversial subject of ‘Islamophobia.’ “Also I am aware that there is a certain amount of Islamophobia in the world today. As Muslims I don’t even know if I think of myself in a hugely religious way, but if we don’t somehow kind of own it, then who will? In the sense that I can’t name my son Alexander and realistically can’t name him Ram. So why not a nice Muslim name?”

But he stressed on imbibing secular qualities in him. “And hopefully bring him up with secular values where we love and respect each other. So, people meet him and say, ‘Such a nice guy.’ And that is the end of the name,” he added.