Bollywood actors have often changed their names to create a unique identity of their own or sometimes the name is changed on screen for bringing in good luck. Some of the actors who have changed their names have interesting stories behind their journey to fame. Some have changed as per numerology and for their luck to change, while others have followed advice from their directors during their debut in the film industry. Indian
Few actors who have changed their names as its easier to pronounce, while there are other celebrities who have modified or changed them to screen names from their real names, considering it as a stepping stone to their success and popularity.
It is believed by some that a name can influence how an actor is perceived. Some consider it as glamorous. It’s a personal preference and a choice to improve their career prospects or to avoid having similar names with other actors in the same industry. But it is still common that actors choose their stage names and the trend has grown over the years.
Let us explore some of the most famous film actors who have had a name change and the stories behind them.
Indian actors who changed their real names for fame
1. Salman Khan has a real name that reflects his family roots. Who would think his actual full name is Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan which has grandfather and his father’s name in his real name.
2 . Rajnikanth is Sivaji Rao Gaikwad, before he became a superstar. A director suggested that the name Rajnikanth be adapted to avoid the confusion with the actor Shivaji Ganesan.
3. Saif Ali Khan at birth was named Sajid Ali Khan. But he had changed his name during his debut film from Sajid Ali Khan to Saif Ali Khan to stand out in the Bollywood film industry.
4. Rekha is Bhanurekha Ganesan known for her timeless beauty had shortened her birth name to make it simpler to just Rekha. Indian
5. Akshay Kumar began his career with his original name Rajiv Bhatia. But he had been portrayed as Akshay in his earlier films which he had liked and the film had done well. So, he decided to adopt the name Akshay Kumar as his professional screen name.
6. Katrina Kaif was Katrina Turquotte but she changed it to Kaif which is her father’s name as she thought it would be easier for the Indian audience to pronounce her name. Turquotte was her mother’s surname while Mohammed Kaif is her father’s name.
7. Ajay Devgn was named Vishal Devgan at birth. But to avoid confusion with another actor named Vishal, he had changed his name from Vishal to Ajay and later after many years had dropped the alphabet a from his surname. Devgan to Devgn for numerological reasons.
8. Kiara Advani was originally Alia Advani. She had changed after she entered the film industry on Salman Khan’s advice as the film industry already had a famous star, Alia Bhatt. To avoid confusion, she adopted the new name Kiara to her surname. Indian
9. Sunny Deol Real name is Ajay Singh but he adopted his nickname Sunny when he entered the film industry. Sunny, he felt is an iconic name that got added to his surname Deol. His powerful screen presence resonated with the name Sunny Deol. Indian
10 . Amitabh Bachchan was named Inquilaab Srivastava inspired from the slogan Inquilaab Zindaba,d derived from the Indian Independence. His father later hand changed it to Amitabh which means endless brilliance. True to his name, his fame. However, he was named Amitabh after the poet Sumitranandan Pant had proposed the name to his father. Indian
11. John Abraham had changed his name from Farhan Abraham to John as that was the nickname that his father had addressed him. Abraham’s Zoroastrian name was Farhan hence he was baptised to the name John. Indian
12. Dilip Kumar changed his name to Yusuf Khan because Devika Rani who was producing one of his earlier films had suggested it and found it more appealing for a film actor with a screen presence. She believed Dilip Kumar would suit his romantic image and appeal to a wider audience.
13. Hrithik Roshan would address his name as Hrithik Rakesh Nagrath. Roshan Lal Nagrath was his grandfather who was better known as Roshan, a well-known actor and director. Rakesh Roshan took his father’s name as his surname and so did Hrithik follow.
14. Kartik Aaryan changed his name from Kartik Tiwari to Karti Aaryan to create a more memorable screen name that is marketable identity. While he has not stated officially it is believed that the name change was a strategic move to fit in better in the film industry and the Bollywood landscape.
15. Ayushmann Khurrana – His parents had named him Nishant Khurrana. When he was three years old his name was changed to Ayushmann Khurrana. His father had consulted an astrologer after which he had got alphabets added to his name.
16. Ranveer Singh’s full name is Ranveer Singh Bhavnani for all his legal and official documents that he needs to put his name on. However, when he debuted for his film in Bollywood, he is just Ranveer Singh and he dropped the surname, Bhavnani. It is believed, the actor felt his name was too long and didn’t ring right for an acting career.
17. Ranbir Kapoor’s full name is Ranbir Raj Kapoor. He was named after his legendary Grandfather Raj Kapoor as Ranbir Raj. The actor dropped the Raj Kapoor, obviously that he did not want confusion with a great star like his grandfather already from the film industry. Not much has been said and the name Ranbir Kapoor is popular since his debut in the industry.
18. Rajkummar Rao had changed his name from Raj Kumar Yadav to Rajkummar Rao by adding another M to his first name for his mother. He adopted the surname Rao as both Yadav and Rao are surnames and his family name. But for the Bollywood he preferred to keep it as Rao as the surname.
19. Shilpa Shetty changed her name from Ashwini Shetty to Shilpa Shetty. Before entering modelling and the film industry, the astrologer believed the name Shilpa would suit her career for fame and success and she achieved lot of fame and success and became a fitness icon in the film industry.
20. Rajesh Khanna was Jatin Chunnilal Khanna. His name Jatin Khanna was changed while he was preparing for his debut film. Upon entering the film industry, his uncle K.K. Talwar advised him that the name Rajesh Khanna was more suitable for Bollywood and it would differentiate him from another actor named Jatin Khanna who was already in the film industry and had acted in Jab Jab Phool Khile.
21. Madhubala was named Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi. She was born in a conservative Muslim family. After she had joined the Hindi film industry, impressed by her work in Neel Kamal, Devika Rani had suggested her to take up the name Madhubala as her professional name for the film industry.
22. Tiger Shroff – His father is Jai Kishen who became Jackie Shroff and his uncle’s name is Hemant and that’s how he got the name Jai Hemant Kishen but his nick name was Tiger since his childhood that stuck on to become Tiger Shroff, the actor’s professional name with his acting debut in 2014.
23. Sridevi who hailed as Bollywood’s first female superstar, was actually Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan. The actress joined the film industry as a child artist at the tender age of four when she would accompany her mother to the film studio. Her name was changed to Sridevi which marked the beginning of a long and successful film career until her untimely death.
24. Mithun Chakraborty was born in Calcutta now called Kolkata and named Gouranga Chakraborty. His name was changed for the film industry to Mithun Chakraborty to Mithun Da in Bengali cinema and predominantly in Hindi cinema.
25. Aamir Khan was named Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan. The actor-director shortened his name in the film industry for professional purposes.
26. Jeetendra changed his name from Ravi Kapoor to Jeetendra after he joined the Hindi film industry. He was considered as one of the greatest actors of Hindi cinema and noted for his acting and dancing style.
27. Govinda dropped his full name Govind Arun Ahuja calling himself as Govinda for the Bollywood film industry. He appeared as Govinda in more than 165 to 170 Hindi-language films alone.
28. Kishore Kumar His real name was Abhas Kumar Ganguly. Born in a Bengali Brahmin Ganguly family the actor, playback singer had changed his name to Kishore Kumar for the film industry when he moved to Bombay now called Mumbai to pursue a career as a chorus singer at Bombay Talkies.
29. Ashok Kumar born in a Bengali Brahmin family was named Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur now Bihar of Present day. He adopted the stage name as Ashok Kumar when he began his career in acting. It was a common practice those days when the stars would change to their professional name to create more appeal and market their screen persona.
30. Anoop Kumar changed his name from Kalyan Kumar Ganguly following the footsteps of his brothers Kishore Kumar and Ashok Kumar. He changed his name after he joined the film industry. He had acted in over 71 films and was popular as Anoop Kumar.
Bollywood actors therefore few of them who changed their name, rose to fame in their journey in Bollywood making them more than just actors; they became the icons of the film industry.
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