New Delhi: In an industry that runs on nepotism, Katrina Kaif’s success story shines like a lone star. The actress is not just an outsider in terms of not having a godfather in Bollywood, but also because of her British-Asian heritage.
In her 20 years of acting career, Katrina Kaif has evolved from an actress with broken Hindi and questionable acting skills into one of the finest actresses of the newer generation.
While today, Katrina Kaif’s name is on every tongue, not many of her fans know that it isn’t the actress’s real name. Just like most Bollywood stars Katrina Kaif also changed her name to fit better to the industry standards.
What is the real name of Katrina Kaif?
Katrina Kaif was born in Hong Kong as Katrina Torquette in 1983. However, after three years, she moved to London.
Blessed with an angelic face and a perfect figure, Katrina got her first modeling contract when she was just a teenager. To know why Katrina Kaif changed her last name from Torquette to Kaif, read till the end.
Katrina Kaif’s meteoric rise: An ordinary model to the highest-paid Actress
Katrina Kaif’s life took a turn when she got noticed by Indian Director Kaizad Gustad while walking down a runway show in London.
Their collaboration led to Katrina Kaif stepping foot into the Hindi Film Industry with the 2003 film Boom. However, the film was absolutely disastrous on a grounds.
But it definitely opened the gates for Katrina to seek an acting career in Bollywood. Although her poor Hindi made it a task for her to find Bollywood movies.
That’s when Katrina looked South and got work in a Telugu film Malliswari in 2004. Unlike her debut film, this was a hit.
Afterward, the British-Asian actress was able to establish herself as a rom-com queen with back-to-back successes like Maine Pyar Kyu Kiya, Namastay London, and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.
Why did Katrina Kaif change her surname?
In her early interviews, Katrina Kaif revealed that her father, Mohammed Kaif, wasn’t involved in raising her and the other 6 siblings. Hence, Katrina’s real name remained Katrina Torquette after her British mother Sussane Torquette’s last name.
However, upon entering Bollywood, she needed a name that would be easy to pronounce as well as doesn’t look too alien to the Indian audiences. Hence, she ended up using Kaif as her stage name.
