Why Chunky is not called Suyash

And Manoj is not called Samar... and other name-calling stories from Bollywood

Hard Kaur
(Rap star, playback singer)

"Punjabi MC paid me a compliment and said 'Hey girl, you are hardcore!' Since then, I have stuck with this name."

My relationship with my original name:

My real name is Taran Kaur. My mom, friends and relatives still call me Taran; but for the rest of the world I am Hard Kaur.

I prefer:

Hard Kaur. I was 16 and had won a rap competition in the UK where many male pop bands were also competing. Punjabi MC paid me a compliment and said 'Hey girl, you are hardcore!' I amended it to Hard Kaur because I am a Punjabi kudi.

I like the name because it signifies a refusal to let others bully me. Goras found it brilliant. Among Indians, half of the community was like 'Wow! What a name' but the other half was like 'What is she up to?' But the moment, I started coming on TV, people started accepting everything, including my name.



Manoj Bajpayee (actor)

"If you throw a stone up in the air, it will definitely fall on some Manoj or the other."

My relationship with my original name:

I don't like my name Manoj at all. I have always complained about it to my father. Poor guy, he would say: 'When the time came to name you, Manoj Kumar was a very famous actor-director. So I couldn't come up with a better name than this'. With all respect to Manojji, I feel that when there was already a major personality by this name, woh naam mujhe kyon de diya?'

It is not unique there are so many Manojs in the world. If you throw a stone up in the air, it will definitely fall on some Manoj or the other. On the sets, I find that either the cameraperson, or the assistant director or the spot-boy is named Manoj. So, whenever somebody calls out for 'Manoj', I respond, thinking 'Ab kisne bulaya?'

I prefer:

Samar. During the shooting of my very first film, Bandit Queen, I felt that I should change my name, but by then a lot of things had already got delayed so I didn't. If I had, I would have been known as Samar Bajpayee. In the name Samar, I see power, a battle. The name is aggressive, yes, but it also has a softer aspect."

Chunky Pandey (actor)

"My real name is Suyash Pandey. In school, everyone called me Suyash."

My relationship with my original name:

People think my name is Chandrakant or Chandratma, from which I have shortened it to Chunky. However, my real name is Suyash Pandey. In school, everyone called me Suyash; now I hear this name only when I meet my school friends. The name, Suyash, was given to me by my grandfather; but because I was a chubby kid, Chunky became my nickname.

I prefer:

Chunky. It is unfortunate that your name and nickname, which stay with you all through your lifetime, are not chosen by you! Between Suyash and Chunky, I prefer Chunky. When Pahlaj Nihalani was launching me with Aag Hi Aag in 1987, he had launched Govinda the year before and he also wanted to give me a name from the Ramayana or Mahabharata. But I felt that it wouldn't suit me because my face is modern. Pahlaj didn't even know the meaning of Chunky but his kids freaked out on the name as it was easy to pronounce. Luckily, I got to retain my nickname.

Mini Mathur (TV celebrity)

"My uncles would say things like 'Arre ab toh tum 'maxi' ho gayee' or 'major ho gayee'."

My relationship with my original name:

My name is kind of weird. When my mother was expecting me, she was reading Kabuliwala in which the little girl was called Mini. She used Mini till she could figure out a proper name for me, but never got around to it. Now my husband calls me Min, my brother calls me Minty. People are forever asking me 'Ok what is Mini short for u2014 Minakshi, Damini, Mrinalini? And my answer is 'No no no'. My uncles would say things like 'Arre ab toh tum 'maxi' ho gayee' or 'major ho gayee'. I would laugh because everyone would think they had cracked an original joke whereas I knew they were the 746th person to say this.

I prefer:

There was a time when exotic names like Ayesha and Mallika were all the rage. These girls were very pretty, light-eyed and had long hair. I often wondered what it would have been like to have a nice fancy name, which meant something profound. The dictionary meaning of Mini is a small version of anything, while I like to do things in large measures. So there is a contradiction in my name but now it is something which defines me.

Kashmira Shah (actor)

"My boyfriend, Krishna's father told me that I should be like Meera and have no expectations from Krishna."

My relationship with my original name:

My great grandmother was called Kashi; and since I was the only girl child in the family, my mom named me after her. I quite like my name because it's unique and in Persian it means beautiful.

I prefer:

Kashmirau2026 The only problem I have with my name is that nobody pronounces it properly, expect for my mom. Whenever I go to Gujarat or Punjab, they call me Kashimira or Kasmira. Americans calls me Cassmera. People confuse my name with Karisma Kapur too. I often get work-related calls, which are for her.

The one time I thought of changing my name was recently. My boyfriend, Krishna's father told me that I should be like Meera and have no expectations from Krishna. I looked up the dictionary and thought of changing my name to Isis, which means Supreme Goddess.

Pony Verma (choreographer, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, De Dana Dan)

"My invitations often come in the name of Mr Pony Verma!"

My relationship with my original name:

My real name is Rashmi Verma. My nickname Pony is a Punjabi name, which my mom's sister gave me. I was a small premature baby with wrinkles all over my body. In Punjabi the cloth that you use to make chapattis in the kitchen is called pona and because I was a girl, my maasi said 'she is like a poni'. I stuck with this name because it was with this name that I became famous in school and college. When I was assisting on shows, all the actors also knew me as Pony. I thought if I call myself Rashmi they wouldn't register who I was.

I prefer:

Kalpanau2026 At one point, I wanted to be known as Rashmi. I thought Pony was such a Punjabi name like Happy or Bubbly but today I like the name because it has brought me recognition. It does get difficult at times though. In the South, they call me Boney master. And my invitations often come in the name of Mr Pony Verma!u00a0
One name that I have a soft corner for is 'Kalpana'. My grandparents had a heated debate over my name. My grandma wanted to name me Rashmi and grandpa wanted Kalpana.

Lillete Dubey (actor)

"I remember in one article many years ago, I was called 'Little Dubey' all throughout."

My relationship with my original name:

My father, an educated, intelligent man, gave us siblings unusual names. My sister's name is Illyushin, after a Russian plane that had been presented to Pandit Nehru. My brother's name is Patanjali. Nobody understood our names.

When you are young, you want to be like everybody. So my name would greatly embarrass me. My name was a derivative of my mother's name, Lila. In French, the diminutive is an 'ete'. Lillete means small Lila. When I met my husband, he joked 'So your name Lillete from Lila; like pig and piglet?' (laughs). I would be upset that my father had given me a name, which people could not decipher. Till date, people make mistakes in the spelling and pronunciation. Many think I'm an Anglo-Indian though I'm a Sindhi. People murder my name. I remember in one article many years ago, I was called 'Little Dubey' all throughout.

I prefer:

Sheela... We have a given name you open the Granth Sahib and choose a letter or name the name so decided for me was Sheela. Over the last 10-15 years, I have started to really appreciate my own name too because it is individualistic but for many years, I would think: Why wasn't I called Sheela because it is a nice, simple name.
Anu Malik (music composer)

"Somebody pointed out that Anu is too short a name."

My relationship with my original name:

From childhood, the sound of Anu has been ringing in my ears. And Anu Malik has become a brand name in music. My name has brought me love, recognition and popularity; and a chance to compose for over 300 films. But somebody pointed out that Anu is too short a name and therefore does not carry as much weight for instance the sound of the name Amitabh Bachchan carries so much weight.

I prefer:

Anu Aditya Maliku00a0I think a name like that goes well with someone who has composed music for hit musicals like Baazigar, Josh, Border. It has a ring of authority. I have realised that an impressive name and an impeccable style of dressing add to a star's allure.
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