Saif Ali Khan name-drops Shah Rukh, as Taimur controversy still rages

Saif Ali Khan's son Taimur was in the middle of controversy soon after his birth as the newborn's name had made a section of people remember one of the cruellest rulers of all-time -- Timur Lang. Now, the actor has opened up on the row and how it affected him.

Talking about the issue, Saif said that while naming his son Taimur had created a big controversy, people have no issue with the name Shah Rukh when Timur Lang's son's name was Shah Rukh.

"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," Saif told Delhi Times.

"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 added.

Considering the hullabaloo that was created regarding the child's name, Saif also revealed that he once thought of changing the name, but his wife Kareena Kapoor Khan did not approve that.

"You know, actually I haven't told anyone this – I thought for a second about changing his name. 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," he said.

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 am sorry' and 'I don't want to offend' and 'I am an idiot' (laughs) and you know I have 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 am doing. So I did think about it. I thought about it, but it was for the wrong reason," Saif said.

"If I feel that he is going to get 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 will have to carry this with him anyway. Why make him be apologetic about his forever," he added.