Akshay Kumar Shares Why He Changed His Name ?
Akshay Kumar Shares Why He Changed His Name From Rajiv Bhatia, His father Said, 'What's Wrong With You?'
The story of how Delhi-born Rajiv Bhatia transformed into the widely recognized akshay kumar traces back to his debut film.The story of how Delhi-born Rajiv Bhatia transformed into the widely recognized akshay kumar traces back to his debut film. The hindi film star revealed why he changed his name to akshay kumar during an interview with Galatta Plus.
Akshay Kumar on his name change
When asked about his first day on the sets of "Aaj," his debut film directed by mahesh bhatt and featuring raj Babbar, Smita Patil, and Kumar Gaurav, akshay kumar shared an interesting anecdote. Although "Aaj" only had him in a special appearance, Akshay mentioned, “Do you know what Kumar Gaurav’s name in the film was? Akshay! That’s how I got my name. Not many people know this,” he laughed. “My real name is Rajeev. During the shoot, I casually asked for the hero's name in the film. When they said Akshay, I decided I wanted that name too!”When questioned if he changed his name to avoid confusion with Rajiv Kapoor, Akshay clarified that wasn’t the reason. He explained, “Rajiv is a good name, and I think rajiv gandhi was the prime minister back then. It was a great name, but I changed it just to say hi (just because). It wasn’t like some pandit advised me to change my name! Even my father asked, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ but I told him the same thing—that the hero’s name in my first film was Akshay, so I decided to keep it.”