They have been in the Indian showbiz industry for long time, earned applause of fans and have a vast fan following. Still, major transformations in their life are not into the limelight.

We take a look at some of the finest Indian celebrities who embraced Islam and proud on their decision.

A.R. Rahman (Allah-Rakha Rahman)

Music composer, singer-songwriter and music producer, AR Rahman was born a Hindu and named AS Dileep Kumar. However, he converted to Islam later. The musician was introduced to Qadiri Islam when his younger sister was severely ill. He was enchanted by the ideals and values of the religion. His mother, who belonged to an Islamic family before her marriage, was influenced by Sufism.

Ayesha Takia

She was born to a Hindu father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Ayesha Takia got married to her boyfriend Farhan Azmi, restaurateur. The marriage ceremony was a typical Islamic one, a Nikkah ceremony was also held.  Ayesha never came out publicly to express her conversion, however various media outlets have claimed that she converted to marry Farhan.

Dharmendra 

Dharmendra (born as Dharam Singh Deol) is the known face of the Bollywood. According to Times of India, the dashing actor had reportedly converted to Islam in 1979. The actor was married to Prakash Kaur when he fell in love with actress Hema Malini. He didn’t want to divorce his wife but could not marry again as per the Hindu Marriage Act. So he converted to Islam and married Hema. Since then he has maintained two separate families. It is said that since there were many protests during his second marriage, the actor had no other option than to change his religion to legitimise his union with Hema Malini.

Sharmila Tagore

The gorgeous actress Sharmila Tagore, who has been awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2013, has also converted to Islam. She fell in love with the late cricketer, Mansoor Ali Pataudi, and converted to Islam before marrying him. She was born a Hindu, but converted her name to Ayesha Begum after her marriage. The couple was blessed with three children – actor Saif Ali Khan, jewellery designer Saba Ali Khan and actress Soha Ali Khan.

Amrita Singh

Actress Amrita Singh was born in a Sikh-Muslim family. She made her Bollywood debut in 1983 with Betaab and delivered several hits like Sunny, Mard andSaaheb. Amrita, who followed the Sikh religion since birth, converted to Islam just before her marriage to actor Saif Ali Khan, who was Muslim by birth. After thirteen years of marriage, they divorced in 2004. However, Saif’s current wife, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, has not converted to Islam.

Mamta Kulkarni

The famous Bollywood actress of nineties Mamta Kulkrani embraced Islam when she was found guilty in a smuggling case with her husband in Dubai airport. The actress turned Muslim when she was facing her conviction in Dubai.

Hans Raj Hans

Indian singer Han Raj Hans, who sang some popular hits like Aaja Nachle, Dil totey totey and Duma dum mast Qalander also converted to Islam. It has been reported that famous singer was studying Islamic literature that inspired him to embrace the peaceful religion. His fascination for Islam is pretty evident from the fact that he decided to stick to only the Sufi genre of singing, which has its origin in Islam.

Yuvan Shankar Raja

Ilaiyaraaja’s son, Yuvan Shankar Raja is India’s youngest music composer. Despite the fact that he was born into a Hindu household, Yuvan eventually decided to convert to Islam. Speaking to TOI, he had said that his father was so superstitious that even when a glass broke, he would call a pundit. He reasoned that he had found solace in the Quran. Yuvan first discovered his spirituality when his mother had passed away and he was feeling low. At that time, he chanced upon a meeting with a friend who had recently visited the Mecca. The friend gifted him a prayer mat and Yuvan started reading the Quran and praying on the mat on a regular basis. Speaking about the same, he says, “I started reading the Quran and its translations and connected with it quickly. I started practising Islam, learnt how to pray and by January, 2014, felt sure about converting,” he told the Times of India.