Akshay Kumar finally reveals reason behind changing his real name Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia

Akshay Kumar, whose real name is Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia, has now opened up about the reason behind changing his name. The actor said he took the name after Kumar Gaurav's character in Akshay's debut movie Aaj. He said he was inspired by the protagonist's name.

"No one has ever asked me this question. My first film was Aaj (1987) which was directed by Mahesh Bhatt and starred Kumar Gaurav. The name of Gaurav's character was Akshay. I had a 4.5 second role in it and I would only observe Gaurav and his acting. I don't know what happened but one day I just went to the court and got my name changed," Hindustan Times quoted Akshay as saying at a promotional event of Naam Shabana when a fan asked him why he changed his name.

Akshay further said although he does not know the exact reason for changing his name, he soon started to get movie offers once he changed his name. "I don't know why I changed my name. I just went to the Bandra East court and got it done. Main kuch bhi nehi tha us time pe phir bhi maine visiting card banwaya. Then I went out to get work, time was in my favor, and I got films after that," Akshay said. Apart from Akshay, many other Bollywood actors including Dilip Kumar, Govinda among others have changed their original names.

Directed by Shivam Nair, Naam Shabana is a prequel of Akshay's hit movie Baby. Unlike Baby, Naam Shabana will have Taapsee Pannu in lead, while Akshay will do an extended cameo. It also features Manoj Bajpayee. The movie is slated to be released on March 31.