Bollywood celebrities with stage names

What’s in a name you say? Well, just about everything. The most famous people in Bollywood think so too. This is why they have taken news names to shoot to fame.

Who hasn’t heard of Katrina Kaif, the reigning queen of Bollywood? With back to back hits in the movie industry Katrina is a well-known name all across countries. But did you know that Katrina Kaif is just a stage name that Kartrine Turquotte uses.

Stage name also known as pseudonym is a name that a celebrity opts to publicly represent themselves. Performers and entertainers such as comedians, musicians, and actors use stage names. The stage name can sometimes be completely different from the original/legal name.

Why will a person use a stage name?

Oftentimes, the legal name of a person may be too difficult to utter. Or sometimes, the legal name is just not catchy enough for the public to grasp. In some rare cases the legal name of an artist might be taken by another notable artist preceding them.

Astrological reasons. Some stars believe that the secret to fame could be achieved by altering their given names. And the lot believes so too.

Here are some very famous Bollywood stage names:

1. Amitabh Bachchan — Inquilab Srivastava

Big B who is famous for hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati was born Inquilab Srivastava.

 

2. Aamir Khan-Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan

Who knew that the person who had initiated the 100 crore club wasn’t even using his full name.

3. Kiara Advani-Alia Advani

Kiara had taken this name because Alia Bhatt had already gained immense fame using the first name Alia. Kiara did not want to be overshadowed by her.

4. Kartik Aryan-Kartik Tiwari

He has made a name for himself using his stage name.

5. Sunny Leone — Karenjit Kaur Vohra

Sunny Leone felt that her given name wasn’t catchy enough for the audience.

6. Akshay Kumar — Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia

Akshay Kumar’s actual name is Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia.

7. John Abraham — Farhan Abraham

Until recently, no one knew John Abraham’s real name.

8. Katrina Kaif — Katrina Turquotte

Katrina thought that the last name Kaif would be easier for Indians to pronounce.

9. Preity Zinta- Preetam Singh Zinta

The dimple girl of Bollywood was originally named Preetam Singh Zinta.

10. Rajnikanth- Shivaji Rao Gaekwad

Rajnikanth has a lot of fan following using just one name.

11. Govinda- Govind Arun Ahuja

Everyone loves Govinda. While stepping into the limelight he decided to take only one name.

12. Shilpa Shetty-Ashwini Shetty

Ms Kundra has made quite the name for herself without her original name.

13. Salman Khan-Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan

Salman Khan is a shortened form of his real name.

14. Hrithik Roshan-Hrithik Rakesh Nagrath

Often called by his nicknames Duggu and Greek God, Hritik Roshan took a stage name.

15. Ajay Devgan-Vishal Veeru Devgan

The name Ajay has proved to be lucky for him.

16. Shahid Kapoor-Shahid Khattar

So, apparently Shahid uses a different last name.

17. Dhanush-Venkatesh Prabhu

South India superstar Dhanush doesn’t even use his real name.

18. Tabu-Tabassum Hashmi

Tabassum Hasmi’s acting possesses versatility.

19. Chunky Pandey-Suyash Sharad Pandey

The name Chunkey always sounded like a stage name.

20. Saif Ali Khan-Sajid Ali Khan

The nawab of Pataudi has roots with the Tagore family. To achieve success he uses a different first name.

21. Tiger Shroff -Jai Hemant Shroff

Tiger Shroff went on to follow his father’s footsteps by taking a stage name. Even Jackie Shroff is a stage name.

22. Mallika Sherawat-Reema Lamba

Mallika took the maiden name of her mom.

23. Johnny Lever-John Prakasa Rao Janumala

The name Johnny Lever was given to him by the workers at Hindustan Lever Ltd after a function in which he entertained people with his mimicry.

24. Mahima Chaudhry- Ritu Chaudhry

She changed her first name to step into Bollywood.

25. Rekha- Bhanurekha Ganeshan

Bhanurekha Ganeshan took the screen name Rekha.

26. Sridevi- Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan

Sridevi’s original name is too long and difficult to remember.

27. Dilip Kumar- Muhammad Yusuf Khan

Dilip Kumar is a living legend of Bollywood’s classical age.

28. Prabhas- Venkata Satyanarayana Prabhas Raju Uppalapati

Prabhas felt that shortening his last name would appeal more to the audience.

29. Madhubala-Begum Mumtaz Jehan Dehelvi

Originally working as a child artist, she was later named Madhubala.

30. Mithun Chakraborty-Gourango Chakraborty

Dada is famous for his stage name Mithun Chakraborty.

31. Nayanthara- Diana Mariam Kuriyan

Nayanthara was named Diana Mariam Kurian at birth.

32. Dharmendra- Dharam Singh Deol

Hindi film actor, producer, and politician Dharam Singh Deol is also known by his stage name Dharmendra.

33. Silk Smitha- Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati

Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati is better known by her stage name Silk Smitha.

34. Guru Dutt- Vasanth Kumar Shivshankar Padukone

Guru Dutt's mentor Gyaan Mukherjee made him drop his surname and change to Guru Dutt in 1950.

35. Dev Anand-Dharam Devdutt Pishorimal Anand

Dev Anand is best known by his pseudonym Dharam Devdutt Pishorimal Anand.

36. Shakti Kapoor- Sunil Sikanderlal Kapoor

Shakti Kapoor is very well known for his roles as antagonist in films. Since he was going to play villain in movies he thought he should opt for a stage name.

37. Rajesh Khanna-Jatin Khanna

Jatin Khanna's uncle KK Talwar changed his first name to Rajesh when he decided to enter films.

38. Jeetendra-Ravi Kapoor

Born as Ravi Kapoor, Jeetendra is popularly known by his stage name.

39. Feroz Khan-Zulfiqar Ali Shah Khan

Zulfiqar Ali Shah Khan took the stage name Feroz Khan while entering the film industry.

40. Anushka Shetty-Sweety Shetty

Sweety Sheet took the screen name Anushka Shetty for acting in the film industry.