In Bollywood, a name can be the first step toward stardom. But you’ll be surprised how many of your favorite celebrities weren’t born with the names you know and love!
Katrina Kaif
She was born Katrina Turquotte and adopted her father’s surname, Kaif, to make her name easier to pronounce and connect better with Indian audiences.
Tiger Shroff
He was born Jai Hemant Shroff and took his childhood nickname Tiger as his screen name to create a catchy and unique identity in Bollywood.
Akshay Kumar
Born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia, he changed his name to Akshay Kumar after being inspired by a character in his first film appearance, making it official at a court in Bandra East.
Sridevi
She was born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan and adopted the screen name Sridevi to have a short, memorable name for her film career, which she started at the age of four.
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Ajay Devgn
He was born Vishal Veeru Devgan and became Ajay Devgn to avoid confusion with other actors, later dropping the ‘a’ from his surname for numerological reasons.
Kiara Advani
Born Alia Advani, she changed her name to Kiara Advani on Salman Khan’s suggestion to avoid confusion with Alia Bhatt and was inspired by a character played by Priyanka Chopra.
John Abraham
Born Farhan Abraham, he chose to stick with the name John Abraham after being baptized, despite suggestions from producers to pick a more marketable name.
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Amitabh Bachchan
He was born Amitabh Srivastava and changed his name to Amitabh Bachchan on the advice of poet Sumitranandan Pant, while “Bachchan” was adopted as the family pen name.
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Sunny Leone
Born Karenjit Kaur Vohra, she adopted the screen name Sunny Leone, combining her brother’s nickname with a suggestion from a magazine editor.
Tabu
Born Tabassum Fatima Hashmi, she adopted the short screen name Tabu on the suggestion of Dev Anand during her first film as a child artist.