Indian Actors Who Dropped Their Surnames
Monogamous or not, these Indian movie stars are all mononymous… i.e. they're simply known by a single name. Read on to know why Indian superstars like Rajnikanth, Jitendra, Rekha, Kajol, Govinda and Sridevi among others dropped their surnames.
Rajnikanth: How could he not be the first name on this slideshow? In fact, he's the very reason for this compilation. And the inspiration behind every surname-less star — past, present or future, dead or alive, Indian or international. Here are some stars who *obviously* went solo with their first names thanks to the ageless, inimitable Shivaji Rao Gaikwad. Mind it!
Jeetendra: Born Ravi Kapoor, Ekta and Tusshar Kapoor's dad was nicknamed Jeetu or Jumping Jack for his rather energetic dance routines in several films.
Dharmenda: Sons Sunny and Bobby and daughters Esha and Ahana proudly flaunt the Deol family name, but Dharampaji always went only on a first name basis
Rekha: Bhanurekha Ganesan, daughter of Tamil superstar Gemini Ganesan and Telugu actress Pushpavalli chose to keep it short, sweet and ever-enigmatic with Rekha.
Sridevi: She is often referred to as the first superstar of Indian cinema and is set to make a comeback with English Vinglish. Let alone hers, even her parents' surnames aren't common knowledge; Wikipedia mentions her father's name as just Ayyapan and mother's name as Rajeswari.
Govinda: He of the leave-your-brains-at-home slapstick comedies. He of the super street dance moves and even more super facial expressions. This actor-turned-politician is often known as Chi Chi and Virar ka Chokra but never as Govind Arun Ahuja.
Kajol: The Mukherjee family has a trio of actors who choose to be mononymous — former star Tanuja and her daughters, the highly-acclaimed Kajol and the not-so-acclaimed Tanisha.
Prateik: Though actor-turned-politician dad Raj Babbar was upset (born to late actor Smita Patil) and step-brother Arya Babbar had a public outburst because Prateik prefers to be known just by his first name.
Helen: This yesteryear dancing sensation with Anglo-Burmese origins, who's step-mother to Salman, Arbaaz and Sohail Khan, was born Helen Jairag Richardson.
Tabu: Guess what this super talented actress has in common with Bollywood's serial kisser? Her surname! How many of us know that Tabu was originally known as Tabassum Hashmi?
Madhavan: He's got several Tamil blockbusters and a few Hindi hits to his credit. But he prefers to be known as R. Madhavan or simply Madhavan. If you're wondering about his full name, it's Madhavan Balaji Ranganathan.
Irrfan: The critically-acclaimed actor recently dropped his surname after having added an "r" to his first name. He told a city tabloid that he didn't want his surname to raise questions about his religion, which he believes is a "personal matter".
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