Bollywood A-lister Akshay Kumar revealed that he did not change from his real name on a priest’s suggestion after joining films, but due to a certain reason.
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In a new interview with an Indian portal, Akshay Kumar revealed that his real name is Rajiv Bhatia and shared the reason behind adopting a new name for films.
Speaking about his debut film, Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Aaj’, where he had a cameo appearance as a karate instructor, whereas Kumar Gaurav led the film, he said, “Do you know what was Kumar Gaurav’s name in the film? Akshay. That’s how I got my name.”
He continued, “Not many people know this. So, my real name is Rajiv, and during the shoot, I just casually asked what is the name of the hero in the film, [and] they said Akshay, I told them, I want to keep my name as Akshay!”
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Kumar furthered, “Rajiv is a good name and I think back then, Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister or something. So it was a great name but I changed it just aise hi (like that). It wasn’t like some pandit advised me to change my name! My father also asked me, what’s wrong with you? But I told him the same, that the hero’s name in my first film was this, so I will keep it!”
Also Read: Akshay Kumar tests positive for COVID-19 for the third time
On the work front, his latest release ‘Sarfira’, the Hindi adaptation of Sudha Kongara’s Tamil flick ‘Soorarai Pottru’, co-starring Radhika Madan, hit theatres on Friday.
Next, he has an anticipated lineup of projects, including ‘Jolly LLB 3’, ‘Hera Pheri 3’, ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ and ‘Shankara’.
