Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Katrina Kaif and Other Bollywood Celebs Who Changed Their Names [PHOTOS]

Changing names before entering the entertainment industry is a trend since the initial days of the Indian films. 

Many superstars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Jiah Khan, Katrina Kaif and many others have changed their name completely or have shortened due to numerological reasons or to make it more sexier.

Check out the celebs who changed their names after becoming actors:

Amitabh Bachchan

From Inquilab Srivastava, named by his father Harivanshrai Bachchan, Bollywood mega star changed his name to Amitabh Bachchan after renowned poet Sumitranandan Pant's suggestion.

Salman Khan

Not many are aware that "Kick" actor Salman's real name is Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan. Good that he shortened his name.

Aamir Khan

Bollywood Perfectionist's real name is Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan, which he shortened as Aamir Khan.

Jiah Khan

From Nafisa Khan, the late actress' changed her name to Jiah Khan after Angelina Jolie's "Gia" was released in 1998. She changed her name as she felt Jiah is a more sexier name than Nasia.

Rekha

The yesteryear actress became famous after changing her name to Rekha from Bhanurekha Ganesan.

Kamal Haasan

Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan's real name is Alwerpettai Aaandavar. 

Mallika Sherawat

The controversial actress changed her name from Reema Lamba to Mallika Sherawat in order to avoid confusion with other actresses with similar names. Sherawat is her mother's maiden name.

Akshay Kumar

Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia ! That doesn't sound like a superstar's name. 

Tabu

"Haider" actress Tabu's real name is Tabussum Hasmi Kha.

Saif Ali Khan

From Sajid Ali Khan, the "Race" actor changed his name to Saif Ali Khan.

Katrina Kaif

The British-Indian actress changed her actual name Katrina Turquotte after she felt her fans would find it difficult to pronounce and memorise her name.

Shilpa Shetty

The Bollywood diva's real name is Ashwini Shetty.

Sunny Leone

Karenjit Kaur Vohra ! Sunny Leone's plan to change her name before making a mark at the adult movie business and Bollywood was definitely a good decision. 

Ajay Devgn

Though the reasons for his name change is not known, the "Singham" actor's real name is Vishal Devgn.

Preity Zinta

The dimple beauty's real name is Preetam Zinta Singh, which she shortened as Preity Zinta.

John Abraham

"Dhoom" star John, born to Parsi mother  Firoza Irani and Keralite father Abraham John was named as Farah Abraham before his entry to the entertainment industry.