Vivek Agnihotri Says Nobody Should Name Their Child 'Taimur': 'Conqueror Timur Killed, Raped'

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15 hours ago

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Vivek Agnihotri breaks silence on whether The Bengal Files trailer took a dig at Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan's son Taimur, saying no Indian should bear that name.
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has spoken out about speculation that his upcoming film The Bengal Files takes a dig at Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan for naming their son Taimur. In a new interview, Agnihotri made it clear that his trailer's reference to the name was not aimed at the star couple, but stressed that no Indian should ever consider naming their child after Timur, the 14th-century conqueror.
Speaking on The Raunac Show, Agnihotri explained, 'A lot of people are named Taimur. (Saif) wasn't the first person to name his child Taimur. Let me explain. When I went to shoot The Tashkent Files in Samarkand, I visited Taimur's tomb. Outside it, it is written, 'He conquered the richest sultanate in the world.' This was the Delhi Sultanate. They were about to give him the title of Emperor, but he refused, and said that he wouldn't accept it until he conquers Delhi."
He went on to describe the violent legacy Timur left behind. 'He massacred one lakh people in one night. He went on a killing spree from Delhi to Kashmir. He raped and pillaged along the way. Yes, he is a hero in his country; he is a great man. But he isn't to us. Of course nobody should name their child Taimur. It shouldn't even be a question."
The actor couple faced heavy criticism when their firstborn was named Taimur in 2016. Saif later revealed in a chat with Delhi Times that he almost changed his son's name after the controversy. 'I thought for a second about changing his name. For a couple of weeks. And Kareena was a little against it. 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," Saif said at the time.
Kareena also addressed the backlash in a 2023 interview with Miss Malini. She admitted, 'Of course it affected me that people were talking about Taimur's name. He probably doesn't even know about the drama around his name. But, he also received lots of love for the fact that people were so interested in him. And I was like, 'But, why?' because people don't know him and he is small. I think now, he will slowly understand. He is understanding that there is a whole culture where people follow him or he is being clicked."
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