27 Actors Who Changed Their Names Before Making Bollywood Debut

A name of a person is something that creates their identity and introduces them to people. Shakespeare might have asked everyone What’s in a name, but for the celebrities of the Bollywood industry, it is their name that’s pretty much everything.

It’s the name that builds their fame and recognition in showbiz. Some of the fans change their name after the star’s fame or even name their kids after their favorite star. If not so important why would celebrities change their name before they make their big debut in the film industry? There are times when even the producers and the directors make the actors change their names as it doesn’t go well with the screen presence.

So here we have a list of a few celebrities in the Bollywood industry who changed their name before they entered Bollywood:

1. Amitabh Bachchan

The legendary actor popularly known as the Big B of the Bollywood industry was named Inquilaab Srivastava by his parents. Before debuting in his first film, he changed his to Amitabh Bachchan.

2. Salman Khan

The ‘Bhai’ of the Hindi film industry was named Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan. When he decided to work in the industry he used Salman Khan which is just a part of his real name.

3. Rajinikanth

Our favorite actor in the South film industry, Thalaiva was initially known as Shivaji Rao Gaikwad when he was struggling to become an actor.

4. Akshay Kumar

Also known as ‘Akki’’ or the Khiladi of Bollywood was named Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia by his parents. He later used that name for his home production and named it Hari Om Entertainment.

5. Hrithik Roshan

The actor is well known for his dance moves that can give anyone an inferiority complex. But he was not Hrithik ‘Roshan’ since birth but was Hrithik Rakesh ‘Nagrath’.

6. Rekha

The gorgeous diva is known to make headlines in the Bollywood industry for her breathtaking beauty and her personal life. She was known as Bhanurekha Ganesan but changed it to Rekha later.

7. Ranveer Singh

Ranveer Singh complete name is Ranveer Singh Bhavnani. While making his debut movie he removed the surname from his name.

8. Annu Kapoor

The popular actor was initially named Anil Kapoor. He decided to change his name as that name was already an established name in the Bollywood industry. He didn’t want any confusion due to the name as he had played an important role in the movie Tejaab so he changed his name to Annu Kapoor.

9. Shilpa Shetty

She was formally known as Ashwini Shetty. But her astrologer mother thought that changing her name to Shilpa would bring her more luck in films.

An example of sheer beauty, the actress could literally take anyone’s breath away. But did you know that her real name was Mumtaz Begum Jehan Dehlavi?

11. John Abraham

The actor’s real name is Farhan Abraham. He chose to use John as his name in the industry because that is what his father used to call him.

12. Mithun Chakraborty

Popularly known as the ‘Disco dancer’ or ‘Mithun Da’ of the industry in the 80s, he was called Gourango Chakraborty before he decided to choose acting as a career.

13. Katrina Kaif

She came to the industry as Katrina Turquotte. But later changed her surname to her Kashmiri father’s surname, Kaif. It was easy for the audience to pronounce it.

14. Dharmendra

The veteran actor needs no introduction. The ‘He-man’ has not only changed his surname from Dharam to Dharmendra but also dropped his surname Deol before he became famous in the Hindi film industry.

15. Ajay Devgn

His parents named him Vishal but he changed his name to Ajay when he joined the Bollywood industry.

16. Preity Zinta

The dimpled beauty of the industry was known as Preetam Singh Zinta at birth.

17. Govinda

The ace comedian and an amazing actor in the Hindi film industry was named Govind Arun Ahuja. He later changed his name to Govinda when he joined Bollywood.

18. Guru Dutt

The man of tragic Hindi films, Guru Dutt defined the Indian film industry. Dutt’s movies are often recommended when it comes to understanding Indian cinema. His original name was Vasanth Kumar Shivshankar Padukone and although it sounds royal it would have put the audiences off.

19. Anushka Shetty

The actress’s real name is Sweety Shetty. Doesn’t it remind you of the nicknames your parents often give you? It’s so common that she decided to change it.

20. Jackie Shroff

While we know him as ‘bheedu’ or ‘Jagu Dada’ of Bollywood, his real name was Jaikishen Kaku Bhai.

21. Tiger Shroff

His real name is actually Jai Hemant Shroff but he followed his father’s step and changed it to Tiger Shroff as it sounds cool.

22. Sridevi

One of the most versatile actresses of Bollywood was Sridevi. A name that no one can forget. But her real name was Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan.

24. Kiara Advani

The real name of Kiara was ‘Alia Advani’. But the Bhai of the Bollywood industry suggested she change her name as Alia Bhatt was already a well-established actress in the industry with the name ‘Alia’. So she went ahead and changed her name to Kiara from Alia.

24. Tabu

She was initially named Tabassum Hashmi Khan. While entering the film industry she changed it to Tabu. Be it Tabu or Tabassum Hashmi Khan, we love her either way.

25. Dev Anand

Dev Anand was a complete delight to watch on screen. He was born Dharam Devdutt Pishorimal Anand. He dropped the first part of his name when he made his Bollywood debut. No doubt there is no other actor to date that could match his persona.

The actor’s father was an astrologist and he changed his name twice so that it can bring good fortune and success to the actor’s life. Ayushmann was formerly called Nishant Khurana. It was then changed to Ayushman Khurana. But his father again changed the spelling of his name to Ayushmann Khurrana with a double ‘n’ in Ayushmann and a double ‘r’ in Khurrana.

27. Saif Ali Khan

Saif Ali Khan’s real name is Sajid Ali Khan. Very few of us might knew this until a copy of his marriage certificate to Kareena went viral on the internet.