What's in a name?

By: Shweta Vepa, IndiaFM

Thursday, June 29, 2006

What's in a name? Apparently a lot, if numerology is something you believe in. Ask the current lot of stars, who are all so taken by this phenomenon. While it has worked wonders for some, others are still waiting for the magical powers to unleash. And as we wonder whether it works or not, most of the stars definitely swear by it.

Most of the top notch stars have experimented with this science. And it has definitely proved to be lucky for them. Take Rani Mukerji for instance. Although, her former spelling 'Mukherjee' wasn't exactly detrimental to her career, she undoubtedly became the rani of filmdom post the spelling change. Having swept away all the major awards for her performance in Black, she definitely established her numero uno position.

Her contemporary, Kareena Kapoor did her bit by changing her spelling to Kareina. But the story goes that her dad didn't really approve of the modification. So she changed it back to the original! Surprisingly, he didn't have much of a problem with Karisma's name change. It didn't really make much of a difference to her career. In fact, she pretty much disappeared from the scene and settled down, after the change. It didn't do much to help her professionally or personally. We all remember how her marital problems were splashed all across the media and made fodder for gossip.

But then again there are those who acknowledge the positive changes that numerology has brought in their lives. Says Anuj Sawhney, "Initially, there were no changes. Sanjay Jumani, whom I had consulted, told me to have patience. The more my name got printed, the better things became. The last six-seven months have been good. I have signed an Abbas-Mustan film which is already on floors. There are three more big banner films that I have signed." Things started looking up for Isha Koppikar, as well, after changing her surname to 'Koppikar' from 'Kopikar.' She has now bagged biggies like Don and Shabri.

Adding an extra 'm' in her first name, sure as hell worked for Rimmi Sen. She did lead roles in films like Dhoom, Deewana Huye Paagal and Phir Hera Pheri. Soon, she will be seen in Golmaal and Dhoom2. Ritesh Deshmukh debuted with a small film Tujhe Meri Kasam but after going Riteish Deshmukh, he made it to the big banners. Actors like Suniel Shetty and Viveik Anand Oberoi, have also given in to this trend. While it hasn't really made any apparent changes in Suneil's life, the results in Viveik's case remain to be seen.

The reasons for changing names vary from actor to actor. For Dia Mirza, it was a spelling mistake on her passport that led her change it. "My parents always spelt my name as Dia. Somehow it got mis-spelt on my passport. And that stuck on for the Miss India contest, since they use the spelling used on official documents. My original name is Dia. Although, now for all my legal work, it is spelt as Diya."

Tusshar Kapoor, on the other hand, proved that he's a true mamma's boy, when he went ahead with his mother's decision of changing his spelling. "Frankly I'm not that much of a believer. I haven't seen any specific changes, as such. Actually, my mother wanted me to do it! That's why I went ahead with it and added an extra 's' to my name!"

And then, there are those who would not change their name, come what may. Take Amrita Arora for instance who says, "I guess I believe in certain aspects of numerology. But I would not change my name for anything in the world!" Abhishek Bachchan was also advised to change his surname, but he didn't pay heed to any of the suggestions. And the results are for all to see!

From what it appears, changing one's name is not exactly a sure shot formula. The results are not always guaranteed. But it's just another one of those routes which might take you straight to stardom. If nothing else works, it's worth a try, for sure!