Can a change in name make you a big star?

Over the decades, a number of actors changed their names for the screen and many of them even went on to become legends

Legends who changed names

Screen Name: Ashok Kumar
Original Name: Kumudlal Ganguly

Screen Name: Dilip Kumar
Original Name: Yusuf Khan

Screen Name: Dev Anand
Original Name: Devdutt Anand

Screen Name: Raaj Kumar
Original Name: Kulbushan Pandit

Screen Name: Madhubala
Original Name: Mumtaz Begum

Screen Name: Dharmendra
Original Name: Dharam Singh Deol

Screen Name: Rajesh Khanna
Original Name: Jatin Khanna

Screen Name: Sanjeev Kumar
Original Name: Haribhai Jariwala

Screen Name: Jeetendra
Original Name: Ravi Kapoor

Screen Name: Rekha
Original Name: Bhanurekha

Screen Name: Rajinikanth
Original Name: Shivaji Rao Gaekwad

Screen Name: Chiranjeevi
Original Name: Siva Sankara Varaprasad

The Current Stars

Screen Name: Akshay Kumar
Original Name: Rajiv Bhatia 

Screen Name: Ajay Devgn
Original Name: Vishal Devgan

Screen Name: Govinda
Original Name: Govind Ahuja

Screen Name: Mahima Chaudhary
Original Name: Ritu Chaudhury 

Screen Name: Johnny Lever 
Original Name: John Rao

Screen Name: Mallika Sherawat
Original Name: Reema Lamba

Screen Name: Suriya
Original Name: Saravanan Sivakumar

Actors who couldn't become stars despite changed names

Screen Name: Jiah Khan
Original Name: Nafisa Khan

Screen Name: Mahaakshay
Original Name: Mimoh

Screen Name: Tia Bajpai
Original Name: Twinkle Bajpai

Screen Name: Rhehan Malliek
Original Name: Gaurav Khanna

Screen Name: Nisha Kothari 
Original Name: Priyanka Kothari

Change in spelling versus change in name
The last few years have seen actors make changes in the spellings of their names based on Numerology, to bring them luck. This, they feel, is a better option than changing the whole name. However, Numerologist Anupam V Kapil believes, "A complete name change, when done correctly, can open the floodgates for fame and success. Just altering and deleting alphabets does not change the way people pronounce your name, so no new phonetic sound is generated to create a new identity."