Why didn't Dilip Kumar use his real name Yousuf Khan?

Posted: 2 years ago

For the same reason Rajiv Om Bhatia uses Akshay Kumar as his name

Posted: 2 years ago

Originally posted by 2RsFan


For the same reason Rajiv Om Bhatia uses Akshay Kumar as his name

And the same reason Manoj Kumar is actually Harikishan Goswami, and Jeetendra is Ravi Kapoor!

And it continues today too.

Ranvir Singh is actually a Bhavanani, Kiara Advani is actually Alia Advani, and so on.... Curiously I randomly came up with 2 Sindhi actors, but it's just a coincidence 😊 I'm sure there are many more...

Posted: 2 years ago
Originally posted by tapori


And the same reason Manoj Kumar is actually Harikishan Goswami, and Jeetendra is Ravi Kapoor!

And it continues today too.

Ranvir Singh is actually a Bhavanani, Kiara Advani is actually Alia Advani, and so on.... Curiously I randomly came up with 2 Sindhi actors, but it's just a coincidence 😊 I'm sure there are many more...

Well Akshay, Ranveer and Manoj Kumar changed their names or removed their titles to make it sound cool and catchy to the audience. 

Kiara changed her name because there was already an Alia in Bollywood. 

What excuse Dilip Kumar and Jeetendra had?

Yusuf Khan and Ravi Kapoor sound cool and catchy. Jeetendra might even have got more limelight and work because of Kapoor being a popular and influential surname in Bollywood. 

Edited by AwaamKiJaan - 2 years ago
Posted: 2 years ago

India just had partition  , there was a feeling that public here wont accept a hero with a Muslim name back then.

Posted: 2 years ago

It's right there in the article posted above.   The name was suggested by his then producer (probably because as suggested - a Muslim name was a hindrance) and he agreed because his grandfather hated showbiz


The actor had also mentioned that his father detested showbiz and wasn't happy about the fact that Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor's (his friend) grandson Raj Kapoor was in films.

Dilip Kumar admitted that it was the lure of the 4-figure salary that pushed him into an acting career even though his father used the term 'nautanki' for the same.

In an interview with Mahendra Kaul, the veteran actor confirmed that it was 'pitayi ka darr' (fear of thrashing) that led to the change of name.

Eventually his father accepted his path and Dilip Kumar became one of the biggest names in Bollywood.

Posted: 2 years ago
Waheeda Rehman was the only one who refused to change her name.
Posted: 2 years ago
Originally posted by AwaamKiJaan


Well Akshay, Ranveer and Manoj Kumar changed their names or removed their titles to make it sound cool and catchy to the audience. 

Kiara changed her name because there was already an Alia in Bollywood. 

What excuse Dilip Kumar and Jeetendra had?

Yusuf Khan and Ravi Kapoor sound cool and catchy. Jeetendra might even have got more limelight and work because of Kapoor being a popular and influential surname in Bollywood. 

Artists have been using pseudonyms since hundreds (if not thousands) of years now. Some to the extent of adopting their 'fake' names. E.g. Amitabh Bachchan could actually have been Amitabh Shrivastava had Harivanshrai ji not adopted his pen name.

So why do you think they need excuses to have a stage name?



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