Celebs and their real names

They drop reality and ensconce themselves in their onscreen avatars pretty easily. Who are the famous faces behind these names: Preetam Singh, Rajiv Bhatia, Sajid Ali? Here are some of Bollywood's famous faces and their real names. Read on..
Did you know that Ranveer dropped his surname when he entered Bollywood? Here's what he has to say 'It's too long, too many syllables. Ranveer 'Singh' is short, crisp and can stay in your memory easily. Ran-veer-Singh-Bhav-nani is too long. It's not a saleable commodity.

Saif Ali Khan's real name is Sajid Ali Khan, according to a marriage application form filed by the couple at Bandra Court in Mumbai.

We know her as Sunny Leone, but did you know that she uses her birth name - Karenjit Kaur Vohra - on her passport?

Preity Zinta uses her given name very rarely perhaps with good reason. Born Preetam Zinta Singh, the dimpled star calls herself a tomboy. With a name like Preetam, sure sounds like it.

The one actress who has speculation surrounding her personal life, there's much debate about Katrina Kaif's past and her name, but as far as we know, she was born Katrina Turquotte In Hong Kong, long before her Bollywood debut.

She may not have hit the big bucks at the box office back home but Reema Lamba, or Mallika Sherawat as this sexy star is better known, does know how to keep herself in the limelight in the West.

Salman Khan is Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan

Born to a Malayali father and Parsi mother, John's Parsi name is Farhan, but he is better known as John Abraham.

Martial arts expert and once-upon-a-time waiter, Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia has since found success as an actor under his screen name Akshay Kumar.

Less successful than his older brother Sunny and father Dharmendra is Vijay Singh Deol, or as he is known to the rest of the world, Bobby.

Numerology got him to change his name around and it seems to have worked. Ajay Devgn who has now dropped the extra 'a' in Devgan was born Vishal Devgan.