Art Knows No Boundaries! 7 Famous Muslim Bollywood Actors Who Adopted Hindu Screen Names

Priyansh Ha |Jun 21, 2019

To Muslim actors whose names are unattractive or old-fashioned, it’s common to change their names into a more catchy and trendy one. Here are the 7 most famous examples of Muslim actors who adopted a new name to go further in the industry.

When it comes to art, there is no boundary for gender, ethnicity, social status, nationality or even religion. In fact, Bollywood is a place which is open for all of the stars who have different religions including Muslim.

To Muslim actors whose names are unattractive or old-fashioned, it’s common to change their names into a more catchy and trendy one. Here are the 7 most famous examples of Muslim Bollywood actors who adopted a new name to go further in the industry.

1 Dilip Kumar Bollywood Publication — *Source: Bollywood Publication*

1. Dilip Kumar (Muhammad Yusuf Khan)

The legendary tragedy king Dilip Kumar who is the role model of many young Bollywood superstar is a Peshawari Pathan. He started working in the industry as a script assistant of Bombay Talkies and had the chance to work with top actress Devika Rani. It was her who advised him to get a new name instead of the old one.

2 Madhubala Hindustan Times — *Source: Hindustan Times*

2. Madhubala (Mumtaz Jehan Dehlavi)

Coming from a Pashtun family in Pakistan, Madhubala made her Bollywood debut in Basant (1942) under the name Mumtaz Jehan Dehlavi. The first lady of India cinema Devika Rani rechristened her as Madhubala which was more suitable for the big screen.

3 Hamid Ali Khan Imgflip — *Source: Twitter*

3. Ajit (Hamid Ali Khan)

The dreadful actor who came from Hyderabad has the original name of Hamid Ali Khan. While working for director K Amarnath on the set of Bekasoor, he was given a shorter name Ajit.

4 Meena Kumari Rozana Spokesman — *Source: Rozana Spokesman*

4. Meena Kumari (Mahjabeen Bano)

Coming from a Sunni Muslim family, the acclaimed Bollywood actress Meena Kumari entered the industry as a child artist with her real name Mahjabeen Bano. However, she was soon rechristened as Meena Kumari by director Vijay Bhatt.

6 Jagdeep Cinetaan — *Source: Cinestaan*

5. Jagdeep (Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jaffery)

The real name of the comedian who is well-known as Jagdeep is Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jaffery. He rechristened his name on the request of director Bimal Roy.

7 Sanjay Cinestaan — *Source: Cinestaan*

6. Sanjay (Shah Abbas Khan)

Being born in a Muslim family where his brother Feroz Khan was also an acclaimed actor of Bollywood, Shah Abbas Khan entered the industry under the name Sanjay. He used this name for the first years of his career then added ‘Khan' into it.

8 Johnny Walker Laughing Colours — *Source: Laughing Colours*

7. Johnny Walker (Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi)

After working with famous director-actor Guru Dutt, Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi was asked to change his name to Johnny Walker. He is an adorable comedian who won the audience's hearts for his glam and elegance.