Muslim Bollywood Actors Who Adopted Hindu Screen Names

Bollywood celebrities are always on top of news whether it’s an academy award or a personal party. They leave no stones upturned to be in media. Kapoors, Khans and Kumars have always been on top of the list. From producers to directors and even the actors, changing their names seems as a trend these days. Yes we are talking about those celebrities who changed their names on silver screen who thinks it was behind the times and unattractive. No matter what their religion is, opting a Hindu name has become a vogue.

Here we bring you Muslim actors and actresses who decided to change their screen names to Hindu one:

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1. Dilip Kumar – Muhammad Yusuf Khan

Also known as the tragedy king and ultimate method actor of Bollywood, Dilip Kumar was born in a Pathan-family in Peshawar, Pakistan. Dilip Kumar was originally named Muhammad Yusuf Khan. He firstly joined Bollywood and started assisting the script department of Bombay Talkies. There he met a popular actress Devika Rani who convinced him to change his name to Dilip Kumar. He accepted her request and changed his name.

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2. Ajit – Hamid Ali Khan

Ajit, can be considered as one of the most frightful villains of the Bollywood Industry. Ajit was born in Golkonda, Hyderabad in 1922. The film ‘Kurukshetra’ was his first film of his acting career where he used his real name, Hamid Ali Khan. He shortened his name while acting in the film Bekasoor kept Ajit.

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3. Madhubala – Mumtaz Jehan Dehlavi

Madhubala was born as Mumtaz Jehan Dehalvi in a Pashtun family in Swabi district of North West Frontier Province of Pakistan in 1933. She was well famous as India’s Marilyn Monroe. She was rechristened as Madhubala by Devika Rani to suit the silver screen.

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4. Arjun – Firoz Khan

Firoz Khan was basically a TV actor and was famous for playing the role of Arjun in BR Chopra’s mythological TV serial ‘Mahabharat. He adopted his screen name Arjun and became famous for that.

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5. Meena Kumari – Mahjabeen Bano

Well known actress of the Bollywood industry, Meena Kumari was born as Mahjabeen Bano in a Sunni Muslim family in 1933. In 1939 she started her career as a child artist in and was rechristened as Meena Kumari by director Vijay Bhatt.

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6. Johnny Walker – Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi

Johnny Walker was one of the most adorable comedians till date to grace the silver screen by his elegance and good looks. He rechristened to Johnny Walker after a famous Scotch whisky brand by a famous actor director Guru Dutt.

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7. Jayant – Zakaria Khan

Jayant was born in a Pathani-family in Peshawar in 1915. At an early stage he started his career in acting where he got his first break in ‘Lal Chitta’ (1935). He was rechristened by producer-director Vijay Bhatt and started being known as Jayant.

He is father of popular actor Amjad Khan.

Jayant - Zakaria Khan - Amjad Khan father
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8. Jagdeep – Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jaffery

The popular comedian actor Jagdeep’s real name is Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jaffery. But on the requests of director Bimal Roy he changed his name to Jagdeep.

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9. Nimmi – Nawab Banoo

Nimmi was regarded as one of the top heroines of the 50’s and 60’s. Her original name was Nawab Banoo. She made her screen debut at a very young age of 16 in 1949 opposite Premnath in Raj Kapoor’s ‘Barsaat’. After partition of India and Pakistan she migrated from Pakistan and made her resemblance in Bollywood in films like ‘Daag’, ‘Aan’, ‘Amar’, ‘Mere Mehboob’ and ‘Love & God’.

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10. Shyama – Khurshid Akhtar

Shyama born as Khurshid Akhtar in 1935, in Lahore, Pakistan. She was given the name Shyama by director Vijay Bhatt which stuck all her life. She started her acting career as a stage artist and made her Bollywood debut as a child artiste in ‘Zeenat‘ and got popular by the name Shyama.

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11. Sanjay – Shah Abbas Khan

Born in a Ghaznavi Pathani Muslim family, Sanjay’s real name was Shah Abbas Khan. After making a mark for himself in Bollywood he changed his name to Sanjay.

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