The real names of these Indian actors including Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Nayantara, Sunny Leone and others

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The real names of these Indian actors including Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Nayantara, Sunny Leone and others

A look at the list of actors who changed their names in the Indian movie industry.

Published: March 09, 2022 19:50 Last updated: September 20, 2023 15:04 Compiled by Lekshmy Pavithran, Assistant Online Editor

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bollywood — Do you know who is Inquilaab Srivastava? It’s none other than the great Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan. Like Bachchan, several Indian actors have changed their names to enter the movie world. There are several reasons for changing the name. Some could be for a better cinematic appeal, while others change their name based on numerology. Let’s look at the list of actors who changed their names in the Indian movie industry. Image Credit: Agencies

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tab Amitabh Bachchan (112)-1557902262082 — INQUILAB SRIVASTAVA - AMITABH BACHCHAN: Amitabh Bachchan was born Inquilaab Srivastava on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad. During one of the episodes of Kaun Banega Crorepati (television game show), Big B had shared that his mother Teji Bachchan had almost named him Inquilab when he was born. However, at the suggestion of legendry poet Sumitranandan Pant, his father Harivansh Rai changed his name to Amitabh, which means ‘the light that will never die.’ Image Credit: AFP

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Rajinikanth — SHIVAJI RAO GAIKWAD – RAJINIKANTH: Legend Rajinikanth was born as 'Shivaji Rao Gaikwad. On director K Balachander's suggestion he later changed his name to Rajinikanth. Image Credit:

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190718 kamal — PARTHASARATHY SRINIVASAN - KAMAL HAASAN: Legendary actor Kamal Haasan was actually named Parthasarathy. In an interview, Haasan revealed that Parthasarathy was one of the names given to him. Kamal Haasan started acting at the age of four and has an experience over six decades in the Indian film industry. Image Credit: Supplied

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dev — DEVDUTTA PISHORIMAL ANAND - DEV ANAND: The Bollywood legend was born as Devdutta Pishorimal Anand and was called Dharam Dev Anand. His nickname was Chiru. Image Credit: Social Media

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Shammi — SHAMSHER RAJ KAPOOR - SHAMMI KAPOOR: The legendry Bollywood actor Shammi Kapoor’s real name is Shamsher Raj Kapoor. Affectionately called the Elvis Presley of India, he ruled the industry with his distinct style and has been a part of more than 150 films. Image Credit: Social Media

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RAJESHKHANNA — JATIN KHANNA- RAJESH KHANNA: Mega star Rajesh Khanna was born as 'Jatin Khanna.’ He gave 15 consecutive solo hits from 1969 to 1971 and was the original super star of Bollywood. His uncle KK Talwar changed his first name to 'Rajesh' when he decided to join films. Image Credit: Social Media

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REKHA — BHANUREKHA GANESAN – REKHA: Born Bhanurekha Ganesan, she adopted Rekha as her stage name. She is the daughter of the veteran South actors, Gemini Ganesan and Pushpavalli. Image Credit:

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Nayanthara-as-Yamuna-in-Airaa-1553673517124 — DIANA MARIAM KURIAN - NAYANTARA: On the insistence of her Manassinakkare director, Sathyan Anthikad, Diana Mariam Kurian changed her screen name to Nayantara.Nayantara has established herself in Malayalam as well as Tamil and Telugu film industry. Image Credit:

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WEB-SUNNY-LEONE-VISIT4232-(Read-Only) — KARENJIT KAUR VOHR - SUNNY LEONE: Born to Indian immigrants in Canada, the actress' original name is Karenjit Kaur Vohr. The actress revealed that her stage name 'Sunny' actually belonged to her brother, Sunny Singh Vohra. Image Credit: Antonin Kélian Kallouche/Gulf News

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TAB dilip kumar FILE73-1607503832805 — MUHAMMAD YUSUF KHAN - DILIP KUMAR Dilip Kumar’s real name is Muhammad Yusuf Khan, He changed his name after entering in film Industry. Image Credit:

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Akshay Kumar in 'Sooryanvanshi' — RAJIV HARI OM BHATIA - AKSHAY KUMAR: Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia is the real name of Akshay. The actor has revealed that he changed his name from Rajiv Bhatia because in his first film 'Aaj', the lead actor Kumar Gaurav's character was named 'Akshay'. Image Credit: Supplied

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Mammootty 1-1572513039226 — MUHAMMAD KUTTY ISMAIL PANIPARAMBIL – MAMMOOTTY: Evergreen South Indian actor Mammootty, adopted this name before his Malayalam film debut. His real name is Muhammad Kutty Ismail Paniparambil. Reportedly, Mammootty was his nickname. Instead of his longer name, Mammootty thought of adopting his nickname as his screen name. Image Credit:

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Tiger Shroff — JAI HEMANT SHROFF - TIGER SHROFF: Born to actor Jackie Shroff and Ayesha Shroff, Tiger was named Jai Hemant Shroff. In an interview, Tiger had revealed the reason behind the same and mentioned his biting habit. The actor had revealed in an interview that he got the name when people started comparing him to a tiger because of his biting habit. Image Credit: instagram.com/tigerjackieshroff

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Katrina Kaif — KATRINA TURQUOTTE - KATRINA KAIF: Katrina was born to Suzanne Turquotte, a British citizen. Reportedly, Katrina Kaif's parents Mohammad Kaif and Suzanne Turquotte got divorced when the actress was very young. The actress decided to change her surname from Turqotte to Kaif is because she thought it would be easier for people in India, to pronounce her full name. Kaif is the second name she got from dad. Image Credit: Clint Egbert/Gulf News

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tab-John-Abraham-(2)-1553756061188 — FARHAN ABRAHAM - JOHN ABRAHAM: John Abraham was named Farhan Abraham by his parents Abraham John and Firoza Irani. John was the name that the actor was baptised with. Image Credit: AFP

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Dileep — GOPALAKRISHNAN – DILEEP: Dileep's real name is Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan Pillai and he adopted his screen name Dileep after the release of ‘Manathe Kottaram’ in 1994. He played a character named Dileep in the 1994 release and the movie was a hit. The success of the movie helped him to venture into new projects and Gopalakrishnan decided to use Dileep as his screen name. Image Credit: Social media

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Shilpa Shetty — ASHWINI SHETTY - SHILPA SHETTY KUNDRA: Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra was earlier known as Ashwini Shetty. Her mother Sunanda Shetty decided to rename her according to numerology. Image Credit: IMdB

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Jeetendra — RAVI KAPOOR – JEETENDRA: Jeetendra was asked to change his name from Ravi Kapoor before entering the industry. The director named Ravi as Jeetendra and had introduced him to the industry. Image Credit: instagram.com/ektarkapoor

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Saif Ali Khan in 'Vikram Vedha' — SAJID ALI KHAN - SAIF ALI KHAN: Saif Ali Khan is also known as Sajid Ali Khan. The actor has apparently used this name in his marriage application that was filed at the court. The application filed by Saifreena at Bandra court disclosed that Saif’s real name is Sajid Ali Khan. Image Credit: instagram.com/hrithikroshan

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Mithun Chakraborty — GOURANGA CHAKRABORTY - MITHUN CHAKRABORTY: Veteran actor Mithun’s real name is Gouranga Chakraborty. He had changed his name to Mithun as the latter appeared more appealing to him. Image Credit: Insta/mithun__chakraborty_

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Bhavan — KARTHIKA – BHAVANA: Bhavana herself adopted the screen name, as she felt there were already other popular actresses with the name Karthika; her real name. Image Credit: Twitter

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