Manoj Bohra changes his name back to his
original one - Karn Vir Bohra.
The voice message on Manoj Bohra's cellphone
goes something like this: 'Hi. The artist formerly
known as Manoj Bohra is now Karn Vir Bohraa'
Yes, the former big bad Prem of Kasauti Zindagi Kii is no more Manoj, but Karn Vir. However,
what's interesting is that it's not a new name
that he has picked, rather, it's his janampatra
name. "Yes, Karn Vir is my original name. It was
kept by my nana, who was incidentally very
close to Manoj Kumar. Around the time I was joining school, Kranti had just released and Manoj
Kumar was really big. So my nana decided to
name me Manoj after him. And through school,
college and till date, I've stuck to Manoj," explains
the actor. So why the sudden name change again?
"Although I love the name Manoj, I've always
wanted to go back to Karn Vir. And I think now
is the perfect time to make the change, since
there are so many changes happening in my life
right now. I've quit television, I'm trying my hand at films, I'm essentially reinventing myself,
so I want to make a completely fresh start, name
included." Manoj, Karn Vir, Prem - doesn't he get confused?
'Honestly, I've always been called both Manoj and
Karn Vir. Part of my family refers to me as Manoj,
while some relatives still call me Karn Vir. So I
respond to both names anyway. Luckily, I
haven't got attached to any one name. And I love it when my fans call me by my screen name
Prem. It makes me feel special. But at the end of
the day, what's in a name? After all, a rose by
any other name is still a rose, right?" If he had to choose between his two names,
which would it be? "I'm a little more partial
towards Karn Vir. My wife prefers it too. But
Manoj is also very close to my heart," he says.
And since namesakes don't seem to bother
Manoj, err, Karn Vir too much, would he change his name again, if a numerologist told him too?
"Maybe at 50! For now, I'm done with changing
names," he laughs.