My name is Taimur and I am a Khan not Kapoor
First there was a controversy about the name and then there was a controversy on why should there be a controversy about what name any parent choose for their own child.
Personally, I have no issues with Taimur Khan just as I do not have with Shaitan Singh. If indeed names defined the personality or character of a person then Tamil Nadu could well be headed the Putin way — if Stalin becomes Chief Minister and every one named Muhammad would be a prophet or all Ramakrishnas saints.
In my opinion — the question lies elsewhere. No one can deny the right of parents to name their child after whosoever they fancy. But, whether the general public has any right or business to comment or have an opinion about it is the moot point.
Normally, conception and birth of a child are and should be private affairs concerning only the parents, families and friends. Outsiders would have little to do with it except for sharing the happy tidings and participating in any celebrations that might follow.
But, what if the parents or the family make a public affair of it and try to draw PR or Media mileage at each stage right from the time of planning to have a baby?
In the case of the Khans — I am afraid, that seems to be the story. The entire pregnancy and delivery of the child was converted into a “made for the media” affair.
A simple Google search would show the saturation media coverage of the pre-natal and postpartum journey of Baby Taimur. In recent memory, probably only Kate Middleton’s pregnancy — not even Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s — received so much attention in India.
In this day and age of commercialisation — let no one believe such hype happens naturally. There is carefully planned and orchestrated media strategy behind every move celebrities make. Photo rights are not given away free nor do stars pose before the camera (as in the picture above) for gratis. Everything comes with a price-tag.
And, there is nothing wrong with that. Stars have a finite shelf-life and they need to extract maximise value out of their brand within that time frame. In a highly competitive world of show-biz, where new models are continuously nibbling at the toes of the older ones — actors and artists have to devise ways of extending their professional longevity.
It is indeed impressive how the new generation of Indian actors are becoming savvy at managing their careers. A great example of that is Priyanka Chopra — who having peaked in Bollywood has made a well-timed leap to Hollywood for a second innings. She must have found a good publicist and celebrity management agency to handle her tryst with the West.
Therefore, let us not assume — the Khans were oblivious of the likely public reaction while deciding a name for their new-born Prince. Seeing the way they artfully choreographed the entire conception to delivery sequence — one would be surprised if the choice of name was not a part of the carefully crafted PR plan.
Having decided to “go public” on a personal matter — they cannot have it both ways and object if people decide to comment or criticise any part of the long saga. In a way, whether they like it or not, the Khans had coopted their fans at large in the saga.
For all one knows — they may have actually engaged a Social Media agency to generate buzz on Twitter and Facebook. It is reminiscent of the time — when another young actress had set the internet on fire with her “have cleavage, will show” statement — which got a mock rejoinder from the editor of the same paper that further fanned the controversy. It is only later — the public figured it was probably a pre-release publicity stunt.
So whether one approves of the name or not — it is the Khans who will go laughing all the way to the bank — when the same people line up to see the next movie release of Taimur’s Mom radiating the after-glow of child-birth.
Well played — Bebo and Chhote Nawab !!
Article first published in @Medium.com click here to read
