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“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet.”
This famous quote by William Shakespeare from his play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ has been cited a number of times by scholars all around the world. However, a lot of Bollywood celebrities might not agree with it, as they have changed their names for various reasons, some before while some after entering the industry. One of many such celebrities is Akshay Kumar, who recently gave us a reason why.
Answering the million dollar question at an event organised by Hindustan Times, Akshay Kumar revealed why he changed his name from Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia.
Akshay further revealed how that decision actually helped him in his career.
“I don’t know why I changed my name…. I just went to the Bandra East court and got it done. Main kucch bhi nahi tha us time pe phir bhi maine visiting card banwaye. Then I went out to get work, time was in my favour, and I got films after that.”
As strange as it may sound, it is not uncommon for celebrities to change their original names when they enter the entertainment industry. Here are a few notable examples.
1. Salman Khan – Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan
While there is no real explanation for why Salman shortened his name, it was probably done to ease things up as the real one was too long for a public figure.
2. Ajay Devgn – Vishal Devgan
While the reason behind his decision to change name is unsure, most people believe that Ajay Devgn changed his name due to numerology. He later even dropped an ‘a’ from his surname due to a similar reason.
3. Amitabh Bachchan – Inquilab Shrivastava
Inspired by the phrase Inquilab Zindabad‘. Amitabh Bachchan was named ‘Inquilab’ by his father and renowned poet, Harivansh Rai Bachchan. However, on the advice of fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant, he changed his name to Amitabh, meaning ‘the light that will never die’. As Sr Bachchan has already dropped his surname ‘Shrivastava’, Inquilab Shrivastava became Amitabh Bachchan.
4. Shah Rukh Khan – Abdul Rahman
SRK was named Abdul Rahman by his grandmother when he was a kid. However, his father liked Shah Rukh Khan better and as Abdul Rehman wasn’t registered anywhere, he went ahead and changed it.
5. Katrina Kaif – Katrina Turquotte
Born to British parents in in Hong Kong, Katrina had a tongue-twisting British name before entering the Bollywood industry. She decided to change her surname because most of her Indian fans would find it hard to pronounce it.
Now, this is some brand-new information!
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