New Delhi: Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s upcoming movie ‘The Bengal Files’ trailer was in news for various reasons. The film that is centred around the 1946 Great Calcutta Killings, the Noakhali riots and their aftermath will be released theatrically on September 5, 2025.
Vivek Agnihotri On Taimur
On The Raunac Show, he was asked about using Taimur’s name in the trailer. To this he said, “Nahi, Taimur kayi log naam rakhte hain. Yeh peheli baar kisi ne nahi rakha hai, aisa nahi hai.” When asked directly if this reference has no connection to Saif Ali Khan’s son’s name, Vivek explained, “Nahi, Taimur… Main batata hun Taimur ka kya hai. Main jab The Tashkent Files shoot karne gaya tha Samarkand, toh wahan pe Taimur Lang ka makbara hai. Okay? Aur uske bahar likha hua hai ki ‘he conquered the richest sultanate in the world’. Sultanate Delhi, Delhi sultanate in the world. Aur usko isliye mahan maante hain ki usne vishv ki sabse… haan usko emperor ka khitaab de rahe the. Woh likha hai uske wahin pe. Aap jaaye kabhi toh padhiyega bahar. Usko emperor ka khitaab de rahe the, usne kaha main tab tak apne ko emperor nahi bulaunga jab tak main Dilli pe fateh nahi kar lunga. Phir woh aaya army leke fateh karne.”
Adding more, he said, “Ek raat mein, ek lakh logo ko usne Dilli mein katleaam kiya. Aisa likha gaya uske baare mein ki jab woh yahan se nikla toh Haryana, Punjab, Jammu Kashmir, raste mein jitne bhi gaaon aaye unko jalata chala gaya, logo ko maarta chala gaya, aurton ko uthata chala gaya. Theek hai, woh apne rashtra ka toh hero hai. Unn logo ke liye toh mahan emperor hai, mahan aadmi hai, usne sabse raeez ko loota. Par humaare liye toh nahi hai. Toh Taimur naam kyun rakhna chahiye? Bilkul nahi rakhna chahiye. Sawal hi nahi uthta hai (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.)
When Saif Ali Khan Opened Up On Taimur
Back in 2016, when Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor’s son was named Taimur, he faced a lot of backlash. Saif later told Delhi Times, “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.”