Bollywood is renowned for its glamorous stars and grand personas. Yet, behind the screen names that appear on movie posters and in magazines lie real names that may surprise many fans. Recent conversations on social media have revealed the actual names of some of the industry’s biggest celebrities, providing insight into the actors’ lives beyond their on-screen identities.
1. Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan was born in Prayagraj to poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and social activist Teji Bachchan. His real name is Amitabh Srivastava. Bachchan’s father dropped the surname Srivastava as he opposed the caste system. Due to his parents heavy involvement in the freedom movement, Amitabh Bachchan was almost named Inquilaab (revolution) after the phrase Inquilab Zindabad (Love Live The Revolution).
2. Rajnikanth
Known professionally as Rajnikanth, Tamil megasuperstar Rajnikanth’s original name is Shivaji Rao Gaikwad.
3. Salman Khan
Salman Khan’s real name is Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan. His name is combination of his father and grandfather’s name.
4. Chunky Panday
Chunky Panday was born as Suyash Panday. As an infant, his nanny dubbed him ‘Chunky’ due to his chubby features and the name stuck around. Even his school friends called him Chunky. At the time of his debut, Pahlaj Nihalani, suggested Panday to change his name to Chandraatma so that people understood his name.
5. Kartik Aaryan
Kartik Aaryan’s real name is Kartik Tiwari. Aaryan dropped his surname ‘Tiwari’ and started using Aaryan after venturing into showbiz. He has stated that the reason behind this was that Kartik Aaryan sounded better than Kartik Tiwari and that Aaryan is technically his middle name.
6. Saif Ali Khan
Born into the royal Pataudi family of Haryana, Saif Ali Khan’s real name is Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi. Following his father’s death, Saif was crowned as the ‘tenth Nawab of Pataudi’ as well.
7. Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar was born as Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia in Amritsar, Punjab. Kumar has stated that contrary to popular belief, his decision was not influenced by any priest or astrological advice and was extremely spontaneous. Akshay Kumar, who made a special appearance in Mahesh Bhatt’s film ‘Aaj,’ borrowed the lead character’s name, which was ‘Akshay.’
8. John Abraham
At the time of his birth, John Abraham was given the name ‘Farhan.’ Abraham, who’s mother is Parsi and father is a Syrian Christian from Kerala, gave him the name ‘Farhan,’ which is a traditional Irani name. However, his father also gave him the name ‘John,’ which is a Biblical name. As per the Nasrani naming system, Abraham’s last name is his father’s first name.
9. Rekha
Daughter of South Indian actors Gemini Ganesan and Pushpavalli, Rekha was born as Bhanurekha Ganesan. Rekha never used her full name as an actor as she wanted to create a separate identity for herself in the entertainment industry. Some reports suggest that the reason behind Rekha not using her full name is because she was born out of wedlock and didn’t share a cordial relationship with her father.
10. Rajkummar Rao
Rajkummar Rao was born as Raj Kumar Yadav. Rao has stated in several interviews that the decision to change the name was personal and not due to Bollywood. He emphasized that ‘Rao’ is a title that is used by Yadavs and that he added an extra ‘m’ to his first name as an homage to his mother.
