Over the decades, we have seen a number of actors and actresses who have changed their real-name to reel-name, such that to gain fame and success in their reel-lives. While some didn't had that good luck, but some went on to become legends and superstars. However, now a new trend has been started, where actors are seen making just small changes in their spellings of names, based on Numerology, to bring them luck. By this they feel is a better option rather than changing the whole name. Check out all those celebrities' real-names along with their reel-names.
Celebs with real-namesAmitabh BachchanAmitabh Bachchan's father Harivanshray Bachchan, initially named his son's name as Inquilaab, which was inspired by the slogan used during the Independence struggle, but later he renamed him as Amitabh, which means a light that never fades.
RajinikanthRajinikanth was born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, to mother Jijabai and father Ramoji Rao Gaikwad, who was a police constable.
ChiranjeeviChiranjeevi was born as Konidala Siva Sankara Vara Prasad, but later changed his name to Chiranjeevi.
Kamal HaasanThe maestro, who is said to have mortgaged his property to make Viswaroopam, was born to a Tamil Iyengar family as Parthasarathy.
RekhaRekha was born as Bhanurekha Ganesan, in Chennai (then Madras) to Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan and Telugu actress Pushpavalli.
JeetendraThe man who made white pants a staple in every man's wardrobe in his era, Ravi Kapoor is better known by his stage name of Jeetendra.
Sanjeev KumarSanjeev Kumar's real name is Harihar Jethalal Zariwala, better known as Haribhai. He was born in Surat, Gujarat, to a Gujarati Jain family.
Rajesh KhannaRajesh Khanna was born as Jatin Khanna. He was adopted and raised by foster parents - Chunni Lal Khanna and Leela Wati Khanna.
DharmendraDharmendra was born as Dharam Singh Deol, but later changed his name to enter in the glamour world.
MadhubalaMadhubala's real name is Mumtaz Jahan Begum Dehlavi, and was born to Muslim parents of Pathan descent, and was the fifth of eleven children.
Raaj KumarRaaj Kumar was born as Kulbushan Pandit, but later changed his name to act in films.
Dev AnandDev Anand's real name is Dharam Dev Pishorimal Anand.
Dilip KumarDilip Kumar's birth name is Muhammad Yusuf Khan. He has romanced some of Indian cinema's biggest heroines.
Ashok KumarAshok Kumar's real name is Kumudlal Ganguly, and is also fondly called as Dadamoni in Bengali.
Shammi KapoorOnce known as the Elvis of India, the hip twister of the 70's had audiences dancing to his every move, but very few know that his real name was Shamsher Raj Kapoor.
Johnny LeverBorn as John Prakasa Rao Janumala, this famous Bollywood comedian's actual name really doesn't lend itself to his personality, as Johnny Lever better suits him.
Saif Ali KhanSaif Ali Khan's real name is Sajid Ali Khan, and this people got to knew, according to a marriage application form filed by the couple, Saif and Kareena, at Bandra Court in Mumbai.
Ajay DevgnNumerology got him to alter the spelling of his surname and seems like it has indeed worked. Ajay Devgn, who has now dropped the extra 'a' in Devgn, was actually born as Vishal Devgan.
Bobby DeolBobby Deol, who is less successful than his older brother Sunny and father Dharmendra, was born as Vijay Singh Deol.
Salman KhanSalman Khan's real name is Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan.
GovindaPerhaps one of the few who hasn't hugely altered his given name to suit his on-screen persona, Govinda was actually born as Govind Arun Ahuja.
Akshay KumarMartial arts expert and once-upon-a-time waiter, Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia has since found success as an actor under his screen name Akshay Kumar.
John AbrahamBorn to a Malayali father and Parsi mother, John's Parsi name is Farhan, but he is better known as John Abraham.
Katrina KaifThe one actress who has gossip surrounding her personal life, there's much debate about Katrina Kaif's real name. But as far as we know, she was born as Katrina Turquotte in Hong Kong, long before her Bollywood debut.
Preity ZintaPreity Zinta uses her real name once in a blue moon, perhaps with a good reason. Born as Preetam Zinta Singh, the dimpled star calls herself as a tomboy. With a name like Preetam, we are sure everybody would like to call her Preity only.
Mallika SherawatShe may not have hit the big bucks at the box office in India, but Reema Lamba, or Mallika Sherawat as this sexy star is better known in the glamour world, does know how to keep herself in the limelight atleast in the West.
Sunny LeoneIt was in news earlier that the real and birth name famed porn star turned Bollywood actress Sunny Leone, is actually Karenjit Kaur Vohra, according to her passport.
Mahima ChaudharyMahima's real name is Ritu Chaudhry. She made her debut in Subhash Ghai's Pardes opposite Shah rukh Khan.
Suniel ShettySunil Shetty changed his name to Suniel, by adding an extra 'e' in his name.
Riteish DeshmukhEarlier his actual name was Ritesh, but because of some numerology aspect, the actor added an extra 'i' in his first name, and made it as Riteish Deshmukh.
Karisma KapoorKarishma altered her name by dropping a letter 'h', and officially made it as Karisma Kapoor.
Nisha KothariLaunched by filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, Nisha's real name is Priyanka Kothari, and is born to a Marwari Jain family. She is also credited in some south films as Amoga.
Jiah KhanThe actress, who committed suicide, was born as Nafisa Rizvi Khan. She was also launched by Ram Gopal Varma in his controversial film 'Nishabd' where she starred opposite megastar Amitabh Bachchan.
Rhehan MalliekRhehan changed his name from Gaurav Chanana.
Tia BajpaiTia's real name is Twinkle Bajpai, and was a finalist on the reality television music competition show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005, when she was just 17.
Mahaakshay ChakrabortySon of Mithun Chakraborty, Mahaakshay was also earlier known as Mimoh Chakraborty and Micheal Mohammed Chakraborty.
