You know everything about your favourite stars, from their birthdays to their 'alleged' affairs, but what if we told you that the names you now chant, are not their real names! Amitabh Bachchan's father named him 'Inquilaab'. The name was inspired
While writers had pen names, out Bollywood stars also adopted screen names. Actor Dev Anand was originally called Dharam Devdutt Pishorimal Anand.
Telugu native comedian and mimicry artist John Prakasa Rao Janumala goes by the name Johnny Lever these days.
Who would have thought that actor Chunky Pandey's real name was Suyush Sharat Chandrakant Deshpandey?
'Baazigar' star Shilpa Shetty's real name was Ashwini Shetty. Although the actress changed her name, it is reported that all of her legal documents carry the name Ashwini on the dotted lines.
Dilip Kumar is considered one of the most iconic stars of Indian cinema whose work speaks for itself. His birth name is Yusuf Khan.
In a bid to avoid being confused with another actress by the same name, Reema Lamba changed her name to Mallika (meaning "empress") Sherawat (her mother's maiden name).
He may be Bobby Deol to the world, but the star's real name is Vijay Singh Deol.
Funnyman Govinda was originally called Govind Arun Ahuja.
Born to a Malayali Christian father and Parsi mother, John Abraham was initially named Farhan.
Bollywood's Singham Ajay Devgn's real name is Vishal Devgn. We don't know why the actor chose the name "Ajay", but for whatever reasons, fans love him nonetheless.
The Nawab of Pataudi Sajid Ali Khan, is now Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan.
Late actress Madhubala was born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi. It was actress Devika Rani who advised the then young Mumtaz to take on the screen name 'Madhubala', meaning 'a woman of honey'.
Rekha was born to popular actors Gemini Ganesan and Pushpavalli. Her famous parents named her Bhanurekha Ganesan, but she later shortened her name to Rekha.
Now known to everyone as Sridevi, this talented actress' real name is Shree Amma Yanger.
Tiger's father also opted to change his name from Jaikishan Kaku Bhai to a much shorter Jackie Shroff.
Bollywood newbie Tiger Shroff was actually Jai Hemant Shroff. The actor revealed that he was called Tiger as a kid, because he often bit his friends.
'Bajirao Mastani' star Ranveer Singh dropped his surname when he made his acting debut. The actor's real name is Ranveer Singh Bhavnani, but he let his last name go, as he thought his name would be 'too long'.
Bollywood's Greek God, Hrithik Roshan was initially Hrithik Nagrath.
Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia worked as a waiter and a chef before he got his Bollywood calling. New beginnings call for a new name, and hence Rajiv changed his to Akshay Kumar.
Before entering the adult movie business, Karenjit Kaur Vohra changed her name to Sunny Leone.
Bollywood's Bhaijaan Salman Khan, who is actually Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan, shortened his name before beginning his career on the big screen.
We take a look at all our favourite stars who took on stage names as they began their long journey in the film industry. The current reigning king of controversy, Kamal Haasan, was born into a Tamil Iyengar family as Parthasarathy.