New Delhi, India: After maintaining a patient silence for long time, Saif Ali Khan has finally opened up about naming his and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s son, Taimur Ali Khan.

Soon after couple revealed their son’s name, the baby was trolled. More than a month later, Saif speaks about the issue.

‘I’m aware of the heritage of the Turkish ruler and my son was not named after him. He was Timur, my son’s name is Taimur. Perhaps the root is similar but it’s not the same name. Taimur is an ancient Persian name meaning iron. 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 he’d grown up with and a cousin too. It’s an old family name like Sara who was also named after a cousin I admired,’ said Saif.

On Taimur’s being trolled Saif said, ‘I should have added a disclaimer, as they do in the movies, that any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. 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.’

Saif expressed his hope over Taimur that he will be an international ambassador for his heritage and counter Islamaphobia. ‘When people meet me they are surprised that I’m not a right-wing Muslim, my son too will be a liberal, balanced, open-minded guy,’ he added.

Talking about the social media storm, Saif said, ‘Social media just makes it clear what everybody is thinking in a sense. There is a lot of anonymity from the side of the people who are doing the talking so they feel free to say whatever they like, and sometimes they get very nasty.’

Saif added that along with the hate, the couple has also received a lot of love and support in recent times, with many people standing up for them. He said, ‘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. 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 his child as he wished to).’

‘There were some people who raised some objections but obviously just to look at medieval history and to make value judgments are. I think, ridiculous, and a lot of people have said that on my behalf,’ he concluded.