Almost a month old now, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor's baby, Taimur Ali Khan Pataudi, has been making news ever since his birth on 20 December last year.
Soon after his birth, social media went into a tizzy over the baby's "controversial" name. Though the parents chose to maintain silence at the time, the baby's granduncle Rishi Kapoor went after online trolls.
In a recent interview with the Mumbai Mirror, Khan finally opened up on the fuss surrounding Taimur's name, discussed the baby's adorable habits and how his mother 'Bebo' thinks that their son has taken after his father in many ways.
Clarifying the confusion around the baby's name, Khan said that Taimur had not named after the Turkish invader and ruler.
"I'm aware of the heritage of the Turkish ruler and my son was not named after him," Khan said. "He was Timur, my son is Taimur. Perhaps the root is similar but it's not the same name. Taimur is an ancient Persian name, meaning iron."
On the reason behind naming their son Taimur, Khan said, "Both my wife and I liked its sound and the meaning. In fact, of all the names I ran by Kareena, she liked this one the best because it's beautiful and strong. Taimur was the name of a boy I had grown up with and a cousin too. It's an old family name, like Sara who was also named after a cousin I admired."
Taking on the trolls who opposed Kapoor and Khan naming their child Taimur, the report quoted the erstwhile Bollywood actor as saying, "Yes, there were some people who raised some objections, but obviously just to look at medieval history and to make value judgments is, I think, ridiculous, and a lot of people have said that on my behalf. I feel quite confident that we don't live in a right-wing society. As Yet. India is still liberal and people are still open minded."
Appreciating the support that he received from many quarters, Khan added, "As far as I am concerned, stars are privileged and our country is actually still very balanced."
"People talk about the country becoming right-wing and fascist, and we have all these fears...but the fact of the matter is that if you view the kind of unnecessary drama over Taimur, there were a lot of voices," he said. "I felt I didn't have to say anything because a lot of people had spoken wisely and liberally. Voices that kind of vindicated my decision and made me feel that it's absolutely fine [to have the freedom to name my child as I wished to]."
"I should have added a disclaimer, as they do in the movies, that any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental," Khan also said.
Also talking about his little bundle of joy's lovable habits, Saif said:
"He scowls a lot, passes wind and yells so Kareena thinks he's a lot like me—a cranky, farty yeller!"
The couple had tied the knot on 16 October, 2012. Khan has two children, Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim Ali Khan, from his earlier marriage to Amrita Singh.
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