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.”