Bollywood is the place where many people come to fulfill their dreams and for this purpose, they live a tough life, struggle a lot, work hard and sometimes also change their names. Yes, there have been times when the names of the actors were changed because their original names were not suitable for the industry. Here in this article we will let you know about the original name of some actors.
1. Amitabh Bachchan:
The legendary Bollywood actor who is also known as Big B is 80 yrs old now but he is still working tirelessly and it won’t be wrong to say that even at this age, he has the power to pull audiences to the theatres, thanks to his dedication and superb acting skills. Amitabh’s original name is Inquilab Shrivastava and the inspiration behind his first name is the phrase, “Inquilab Zindabad” which was used by the Indians during the freedom struggle.
2. Salman Khan:
One of the biggest superstars of Bollywood, Salman Khan is the eldest son of screenwriter Salim Khan and Salma Khan. Salman’s original name is Salman Salim Abdul Rashid Khan and quite obviously, the complete name can’t be used on the big screen.
3. Rajinikanth:
The southern superstar may have worked mainly in southern language movies but he has a huge fan following all over the world and his original name is Shivaji Rao Gaikwad.
4. Akshay Kumar:
The Khiladi Kumar of Bollywood is one of the most versatile actors of the industry and he has entertained us by acting in movies of almost all genres whether it is action, comedy, romantic, etc. Though we all know him as Akshay Kumar yet his original name is Rajiv Bhatia.
5. Prabhas:
After SS Rajamouli directed Baahubali series, Prabhas became a household name all over the country and his fan following increased manifold. Fans of Prabhas are eagerly waiting for his next movie Adipurush which is based on the Hindu epic Ramayana and Prabhas also needs a hit movie because after Baahubali, his movies have failed to perform well at the box-office. Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju is the original and complete name of your favourite actor Prabhas.
6. Rekha:
The beautiful veteran actress whose beauty is increasing with each passing day is not seen much in movies now but still people talk a lot about her and her gorgeous looks. The complete and original name of Rekha is Bhanurekha Ganeshan.
7. Mallika Sherawat:
The Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat may be missing from the big screen nowadays but there was time when she gave back-to-back hits. Mallika’s father was totally against her working in Bollywood and as she entered the showbiz world, she changed her name from Reema Lamba to Mallika (which means a queen) Sherawat (mother’s maiden surname).
8. Ashok Kumar & Kishore Kumar:
The famous singer-actor of yesteryears, Kishore Kumar whose songs are still very popular among music lovers entered the movie industry after following the footsteps of his elder brother Ashok Kumar. While the real name of Ashok Kumar is Kumudlal Ganguly, Kishore Kumar’s real name is Abhas Ganguly.
9. Kiara Advani:
Kiara Advani’s real name is Alia Advani but she changed her name to Kiara while making her debut in Bollywood as Alia Bhatt was already a famous actress at that time. The suggestion to change the name was given to Kiara by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan.
10. Rajkummar Rao:
Rajkummar Rao’s original name is Raj Kumar Yadav, he changed his surname because he wanted to have Rao as his surname and there was no problem in using either of them as Rao and Yadav are the same family names in the Indian state of Haryana. The extra “m” that he added in his name is for his mother.
Did you know about the real names of these actors? Do you think we missed any? Add to the list.