People can’t pick their own names – and to famous or aspiring actors/celebrities, having a weird name is actually a pretty bad thing. Because of that, some celebrities have replaced their name with a better “Screen name” version so that they can PR better. In this list, we would list out the real names of some famous actors and actresses in Bollywood.
SILK SMITHA- VIJAYALAKSHMI VADLAPATI
Silk Smitha changed her name from Vijayalakshmi in traditional Telugu to match her personality on screen.
ANITA HASSANANDANI REDDY - NATASSHA HASSANDANI
This Bollywood actress was the star of "Kkavyanjali" – she wasn’t born Anita. Her original name was Natassha.
SANJEEV KUMAR - HARIHAR JETHALAL JARIWALA
Harihar Jethalal Jariwala started his career as a Gujarati stage artist – he changed his name into Sanjeev Kumar before joining Bollywood.
ANUSHKA SHETTY - SWEETY SHETTY
Anushka Shetty was originally named Sweety Shetty, a rather weird name.
RAJINIKANTH - SHIVAJI RAO GAIKWAD
Rajnikanth was originally known as Shivaji Rao Gaikwad. He changed his name based on the director’s suggestion.
MITHUN CHAKRABORTY - GOURANGO CHAKRABORTY
Gourango Chakraborty was the original name of Bollywood’s Disco Dancer.
REKHA - BHANUREKHA GANESAN
The actress was originally called Bhanurekha Ganesan.
RAJESH KHANNA - JATIN KHANNA
The original Bollywood superstar, with 15 solo hits from 1960 to 1971, was originally known as Jatin Khanna
DEV ANAND - DHARAM DEVDUTT PISHORIMAL ANAND
Originally named Dharam Devdutt Pishorimal Anand, the actor probably wanted to get a shorter name.
SHILPA SHETTY - ASHWINI SHETTY
For numerological reasons, Ashwini changed her name to Shilpa Shetty.
JOHN ABRAHAM – FARHAN
John was the name given to him by his father – his original Parsi name was Farhan.
KATRINA KAIF - KATRINA TURQUOTTE
Katrina changed her last name from Turquotte to Kaif based on a friend’s advice so that it would be easier to pronounce.
AKSHAY KUMAR - RAJIV HARI OM BHATIA
The Delhi actor rose to stardom only after his name was changed from Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia to Akshay Kumar.
KIARA ADVANI - AALIA ADVANI
Her name was changed in order to stay unique – there is already an actress named Alia in Bollywood.
DHARMENDRA - DHARAM SINGH DEOL
Dharmendra, the He-man of Bollywood, was originally known as Dharam Singh Deol. He changed his name prior to entering the industry.
MAHIMA CHAUDHARY – RITU
Ritu made her debut as Mahima Chaudhary, partly thanks to the director Subhash Ghai.
GOVINDA - GOVIND ARUN AHUJA
Govind Arun Ahuja shortened his name to create Govinda.
AJAY DEVGN - VISHAL VEERU DEVGAN
Ajay Devgn was originally known as Vishal Veeru Devgan. He switched into Ajay Devgan just before he entered the movie industry.
MALLIKA SHERAWAT - REEMA LAMBA
Reema Lamba, the Bollywood bombshell picked Mallika Sherawat as her new name on the screen.
AMITABH BACHCHAN – INQUILAAB
The Bollywood superstar was originally known as Inquilaab. His father changed his name to Amitabh afterward, based on a suggestion of a poet.
DILIP KUMAR - YUSUF KHAN
The original name of this iconic actor is Yusuf Khan.
JEETENDRA - RAVI KAPOOR
Ravi Kapoor was renamed by his mentor V Shantaram into Jeetendra
JOHNNY LEVER - JOHN PRAKASA RAO JANUMALA
John Prakasa Rao Janumala was renamed into Johnny Lever while he was performing at a Lever company.
NAGMA - NANDITA ARVIND MORAJI
Nandita Arvind Moraji was Nagma’s original name.
This is the end of our list. Overall, a name change is pretty important in creating a new celebrity personality. People are more likely to remember something striking and special rather than some bland names. Ease of spelling is also a factor as well - some actors and actresses just have too much of a name for people to actually use (either too long or too hard to spell). These renames are akin to internet names or IDs of today.
Comments