Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan & other actors who changed their names; see list

Whether it is too hard to pronounce or too long to call out or simply because there is another famous actor with the same name, many actors in Bollywood have changed their names for many different reasons. Evidently, some celebrities may not agree to William Shakespeare famous quote from his play ‘Romeo and Juliet’- “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”.

They have in fact taken their name very seriously and have even gone ahead so much to alter it in some cases. So here is the list of celebs who changes their names before or after entering Bollywood.

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Akshay Kumar- Rajiv Bhatia

Bollywood actor famously known as Akshay Kumar changed his name from Rajiv Bhatia. In one of the interview, the Khiladi actor revealed that in his first film Aaj (1987) his screen name was Akshay. He loved that name and thought of changing his screen name to the same. 

Riteish Deshmukh - Ritesh Deshmukh

It is rumoured that Riteish Deshmukh changed the spelling of his name because one of his friends insisted him to do so. 

Ayushmann Khurrana – Ayushman Khurana

Andhadhun actor Ayushmann Khurrana’s father is an astrologer and according to his advice, he decided to change his spelling for career success.

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Salman Khan – Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan

There is no certain reason why Salman Khan shortened his name, but evidently, it is simply because the name is too long to call out for.

Amitabh Bachchan – Inquilab Shrivastava

Reportedly, Amitabh Bachchan's father and renowned poet, Harivansh Rai Bachchan was inspired by the quote Inquilab Zindabad and decided to name his son – Inquilab. Later, on the advice of a poet, he changed his name to Amitabh, which means - ‘the light that will never die’.

Katrina Kaif – Katrina Turquotte

Katrina is a British citizen. Reportedly, many found it difficult to pronounce her last name in India. As a result, reportedly, she decided to change her surname after she entered Bollywood to make it simple for her fans to address her.

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Rajkummar Rao from Rajkumar Yadav

One of the best example who has benefited by believing in stars and changing the name is Rajkummar Rao.  Although his incredible talent is no doubt has not gone unwatched, the actor did add an extra 'm' to his first name and dropped his surname completely. 

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