Bollywood Stars and Their REAL Names & More!

lentils thumbnail
13th Anniversary Thumbnail Dazzler Thumbnail Engager Level 1 Thumbnail
Posted: 13 years ago
#1
Here's famous Bollywood Stars' Stage Names vs. Real Names

Aamir Khan – Aamir Hussain Khan
Ajay Devgan – Vishal Devgan
Ajit – Hamid Ali Khan
Akshay Kumar – Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia
Amitabh Bachchan – Amitabh Shrivastava or Amit Srivastav (not sure which)
Ashok Kumar – Kumud Ganguly
Balraj Sahani – Yudhisthir Sahani
Bobby Deol – Vijay Singh Deol
Chiranjeevi – Koindela Siva Shankara vara Prasad
Chunky Pandey – Suyush Sharat Chandrakant Deshpandey
Dev Anand – Devdutta Pishorimal Anand
Dhramendra – Dharam Singh Deol
Dilip Kumar – Yusuf Khan
(In the50s- 60s, many Muslim actors used to change their names to Hindi to hide their religion)
Govinda – Govind Arun Ahuja
Gurudutt – Vasanth Kumar Shiv Shankar Padukone
Hema Malini – Hema Malini R. Chakravarty
Hrithik Roshan – Hrithik Nagrath Roshan
Imran Khan – Imran Pal (took mother's last name after parent's divorce)
Jackie Shroff – Jaikishan Kakubhai
Jiah Khan Nafisa Khan
Jitendra – Ravi Kapoor
John Abraham – Farhan Abraham
Johnny Liver – John Rao
Kamal Haasan- Alwarpettai Aandavar
Katrina Kaif – Katrina Turquotte (still Turquotte on her passport)
Kishore Kumar – Abhas Kuman Ganguly
Kumar Gaurav – Manoj Tulli
Lucky Ali – Maqsood Mehmood Ali
Madhubala – Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi
Mahima Chaudhry – Ritu Chaudhry
Mallika Sherawat – Reema Lamba
Manoj Kumar – Hare Krishna Goswami
Meena Kumari – Mahjabeen Ali Bux
Mithun Chakraborty – Gauranga Chakraborty
Nana Patekar – Vishwanath Patekar
Nargis – Fatima Rashid
Preity Zinta – Preetam Singh Zinta
Ranveer Singh – Ranveer Bhavnani
Raj Kapoor – Ranbir Raj
Raj Kumar – Kulbhushan Pandit
Rajesh Kahanna – Jatin Khanna
Rajnikant – Sivaji Rao Gaekwad
Rakhi Sawant – Neeru Sawant
Reena Roy – Saira Khan
Rekha – Bhanurekha Ganesan
Salman Khan- Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan
Sanjeev Kumar – Haribhai Jariwala
Shahid Kapoor – Shahid Khattar (his mom was married to Rajesh Khattar for a short while, mother's name is Neelima Azim)
Shammi Kapoor – Shamsher Raj Kapoor
Shashi Kapoor – Balbirraj Kapoor
Shilpa Shetty – Ashwini Shetty
Shiney Ahuja – Roshan Ahuja
Sunil Dutt – Balraj Dutt
Ranveer Singh – Ranveer Bhavnani
Sunny Deol – Ajay Singh Deol
Tabu – Tabassum Hashmi Khan
Tuntun – Uma Devi Khatri

Name Changes due to Religious Conversion or Marriage:

Dileep Kumar Allah Rakha Rahman
Hema Malini Aisha Bi R. Chakravarty
[did Hema convert back from Islam? because I remember her talking about doing pooja in the mornings on KWK]
Dharmendra – Dilawar Khan Kewal Krishn
Bakhtawar Murad Khan Sonam (90s actress)
Sharmila Tagore – Begum Ayesha Sultana
Dilnawaz Sheikh – Manyata Dutt

Shahrukh was also asked to change his name to Hindi by his in-laws. They wanted him to change his name to Jitendra Kumar Tuli, but he didn't agree.

And then there are those who changed the spelling of their names believing it to be lucky or for religious reasons:

Ajay Devgan – Ajay Devgn
Vivek Oberoi – Viveik Oberoi – Viveik Anand – Vivek Anand (he is one confused person)
Jimmy Shergill – Jimmy Sheirgill
Ritesh Deshmukh – Riteish Deshmukh
Sunil Shetty – Suniel Shetty
Rani Mukherjee – Rani Mukerji
Kareena Kareina (for a short time only, her dad didn't approve and she changed back)
Karishma – Karisma
Rimi Sen – Rimmi Sen
Dia Mirza Diya Mirza (was accidently misspelled on her passport and she kept it)
Tushar Kapoor – Tusshar Kapoor
Hansika Motwani – Hansika Motawani Hannsikaa Motawani (last change was suggested to her by Himesh Reshammiya 😆)


Numerology Changes in Movie Titles:
Heyy Babyy
Singh is Kinng
Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
Koi Mil Gaya
Krrish
Krazzy 4
Karzzz
Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai
Zubeidaa
Kambakkt Ishq
Kyaa Kool Hai Hum
Jodhaa Akbar

Some other random changes for luck reasons:

Big B's House Mansa became Jalsa
Ekta Kapoor's TV serials all have to start with "K", the extra "a" in "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai"
Subhash Ghai makes major announcements on Oct 24th (his marriage anniversary & wife's bday), he used to insist that all his heroine's names start with "M" (Madhuri, Meenakshi, Manisha)
Salman Khan believes his saphire bracelet is his lucky charm, he releases films on Eid now (since Wanted)
Shahrukh's house Jannat became Mannat, all his cars have 555 printed on it
Sanjay Dutt always has 4545 on license plates
Vidya Balan believes Hashmi brand kohl is lucky and only wears this

Created

Last reply

Replies

53

Views

74.3k

Users

26

Likes

95

Frequent Posters

ruky786 thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Trailblazer Thumbnail + 4
Posted: 13 years ago
#2
Rakhi Sawant – Neeru Sawant
Reena Roy – Saira Khan


^^^Never knew that
649486 thumbnail
Posted: 13 years ago
#3
Shahrukh's house Jannat became Mannat,

😆 He'll be changing it to Mushaqat soon
Edited by 2direct - 13 years ago
401366 thumbnail
Posted: 13 years ago
#4

Gurudutt ' Vasanth Kumar Shiv Shankar Padukone


^ So, Gurudutt was from South?! 😲


*


Hrithik Roshan ' Hrithik Nagrath Roshan


^ His Grandpa's name was Roshan Lal Nagra. So, HR's real name would be Hrithik Lal Nagra


*


John Abraham – Farhan Abraham

Kumar Gaurav – Manoj Tulli

Preity Zinta – Preetam Singh Zinta


^ 😳


*


Bakhtawar Murad Khan – Sonam (90s actress)


^ Why did she convert? Didn't she marry Rajiv Rai? 🤔


*


Bobby Deol – Vijay Singh Deol

Sunny Deol – Ajay Singh Deol


^ 😆 So, they were the original Ajay-Vijay of Bollywood. & 80s Bollywood heroes were emulating them.

Edited by bamboocopter - 13 years ago
401366 thumbnail
Posted: 13 years ago
#5

Originally posted by: ruky786

Rakhi Sawant ' Neeru Sawant
Reena Roy ' Saira Khan


^^^Never knew that


She adopted that name after marrying Mohsin Khan. 😊

ISano thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Stunner Thumbnail + 3
Posted: 13 years ago
#6
Preity zinta.. also have a middle name pratibha.. she said it on Saregamapa
Dimdim thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Rocker Thumbnail + 2
Posted: 13 years ago
#7
Shilpa Shetty was always Shilpa Shetty. She is a junior from my school. There is no way she was called Ashwini ever.
Edited by Peacefull - 13 years ago
Dimdim thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Rocker Thumbnail + 2
Posted: 13 years ago
#8

Originally posted by: bamboocopter

Gurudutt ' Vasanth Kumar Shiv Shankar Padukone


^ So, Gurudutt was from South?! 😲


*






Gurudutt , Amrita Rao& Deepika Padukone, Siddharth Mallya Shyam Benegal , Rohini Hattangandi , are Saraswat Brahmins who speak Konkani. Saraswat Brahmins migrated to different parts of the country...and depending on their location adapted their language. They trace their ancestors to the banks of the Saraswat River in Kashmir.




Edited by Peacefull - 13 years ago
Yuvika_15 thumbnail
Hogwarts Championship 2025 Thumbnail Gulaal-e-Jung Thumbnail + 9
Posted: 13 years ago
#9

Originally posted by: Burcidi

Dilip Kumar ' Yusuf Khan (In the50s- 60s, many Muslim actors used to change their names to Hindi to hide their religion) i dnt think the reason is tru, i remember thm saying he tuk dilip kumar becos surname kumar was ruling BW @ the time...stupid reason i knw, bt apparently tht was it... a bit like hw 2day BW is al abt Khans... n having "Khan" as a surname works 2 ur favour
Name Changes due to Religious Conversion or Marriage:

Dileep Kumar ' Allah Rakha Rahman is this the same dilip kumar tht u mentioned above? he was always a muslim

never knw tht amitabh's surname wasn't bachchan...u sure abt tht?... his whole family carries bachchan name😕 wer did he gt bachchan 4rm thn?
Dimdim thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Rocker Thumbnail + 2
Posted: 13 years ago
#10

Originally posted by: Yuvika_15

never knw tht amitabh's surname wasn't bachchan...u sure abt tht?... his whole family carries bachchan name😕 wer did he gt bachchan 4rm thn?



Bachchan is a title which Harivansh Rai adopted . They are Srivastavs originally.

Related Topics

Bollywood Thumbnail

Posted by: beena_jon

5 months ago

Karan Johar names five on-screen women he wishes

Filmmaker Karan Johar on Wednesday expressed his desire to dine with five of the most iconic on-screen women — Poo, Miranda Priestly, Tanya...

Expand ▼
Bollywood Thumbnail

Posted by: oyebollywood

5 months ago

Madhuri Dixit Names Rasha Thadani For Ek Do Teen Recreation

https://www.indiaforums.com/article/madhuri-dixit-picks-this-star-kid-as-the-perfect-fit-to-recreate-her-dance-number-ek-do-teen_219397

https://www.indiaforums.com/article/madhuri-dixit-picks-this-star-kid-as-the-perfect-fit-to-recreate-her-dance-number-ek-do-teen_219397
Expand ▼
Bollywood Thumbnail

Posted by: priya185

14 days ago

Badli si hawa hai song from B*****ds of Bollywood

Badli si hawa song from B*****ds of Bollywood https://www.instagram.com/p/DNpsdtux64B/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DNpsdtux64B/
Expand ▼
Bollywood Thumbnail

Posted by: oyebollywood

7 months ago

Top

Stay Connected with IndiaForums!

Be the first to know about the latest news, updates, and exclusive content.

Add to Home Screen!

Install this web app on your iPhone for the best experience. It's easy, just tap and then "Add to Home Screen".