Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, who played a historical character of Udaybhan Singh Rathore in the movie Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, recently made a statement that did not go down well with many.
In an interview with Anupama Chopra, Saif, who calls himself a history buff, said that there was no concept of India until the British came in. This remark from the 49-year-old actor triggered a controversy as many prominent personalities, including some politicians, reacted strongly to it.
Renowned author, Tarek Fatah reacted to Saif's statement by tweeting, "Bollywood 'history buff' #SaifAliKhan claims 'there was no concept of India until the British came'. Yeah right. French East India Company was about China & Vasco D'Gama went to Fiji. Last time he invoked 'history' he named his son 'Timur'".
BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi also targeted Saif on the same lines that Fatah did for the comment. "Even Turks find Taimur a brute! But some people choose to name their children Taimur," she tweeted. There are some others who stood in support of Saif, and counter-slammed others for dragging Saif's son in the debate. Timur was a Turkish ruler, who was known for his cruelty and conducting mass murders, as mentioned in the history books.
Earlier, Saif had responded to the controversy of naming his son Taimur, by saying that it was not put in reference to the historical figure. “I am aware of the heritage of the Turkish ruler and my son was not named after him; 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," he had told Mumbai Mirror.
Meanwhile, as in most cases, this time as well, some people on Twitter came up with some funny responses to Saif's comment also. Check a few tweets below: