Malaika Arora and actor-producer Arbaaz Khan were once the power couple of Bollywood. The duo announced their separation in March 2016 after being married for 18 years. Recently, Malla recalled how people had reacted to her decision of going back to her maiden surname post-divorce.
Malaika Arora on dropping Khan surname
Malaika Arora shared that she was advised against removing the Khan surname from her name. People had told her that she was making “the biggest mistake” as the last name had a lot of “weightage.”
“It did have a lot of benefits in my life but I don’t think I could rest on the fact that I had a famous surname. I don’t think that was my endow to everything I wanted to do in my life. It did open up a lot of doors for me but I think at the end of the day I have to work irrespective of my married surname. And, I had to work hard and prove myself every single day of my life to stay in the game. And, the day I had the surname name and I went back to my maiden name I still continued to work, make a difference,” Malaika said at the India Today Conclave 2023.
Malaika Arora reveals what people had to say
“I had loads of people tell me that I am making the biggest mistake of dropping the surname. A lot of people telling me ‘you don’t realise the weightage a surname has’,” she added.
The reality show personality further said that she has a lot of respect for her former in-laws and they have given her a lot of love. She said that she is very much a part of the family as she has a kid with Arbaaz. However, she had to go ahead with the decision.
“But for me, I needed to stand on my own two feet… and not just about the surname. For me being able to drop the surname and going back to my maiden surname, it just gave me a sense of self. That just made me feel I could take on or do anything in life,” Malaika said.
