Tollywood stars who changed their names

Chiranjeevi

Megastar Chiranjeevi is ruling the Tollywood film industry. The actor’s real name is Konidela Sivasankara Vara Prasad. But his family was a passionate devotee of Lord Hanuman, so his mother advised the actor to change his name to 'Chiranjeevi', which means ‘one who lives forever’, which refers to Hanuman being immortal.

Telugu veteran actor Chandra Mohan started off his career in the year 1966 with the film 'Rangula Ratnam'. The actor's real name is Mallampalli Chandrasekhara Rao. But the actor changed his name to Chandra Mohan on entering the film industry. The talented actor gave hits like Padaharella Vayasu, Siri Siri Muvva, Chandamama Raave, Athanokkade and many more. Chandra Mohan won two Filmfare Awards and six Nandi Awards for his performances.

Renowned actor Jagapati Babu made his debut in the Telugu film industry with 'Simha Swapnam' in the year 1989. Jagapati Babu's real name is Veeramachaneni Jagapati Rao Chowdary. But instead of using such a long name he changed his name to Jagapati Babu and is known in the industry by the same name. Reportedly, in his 25 years in the Tollywood film industry, he starred in approximately 120 feature films. The actor also received seven state Nandi Awards and three Filmfare Awards.

Power Star Pawan Kalyan made his acting debut with the film 'Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi' in the year 1996. The actor's original name is Konidela Kalyan Babu but he changed his name to Pawan Kalyan after a martial arts presentation he organized to demonstrate his training. The actor give hits like 'Gokulamlo Seetha', 'Suswagatham', 'Thammudu', 'Badri', 'Kushi', 'Jalsa', 'Gabbar Singh' and many more.

'Eega' actor Nani, made his acting debut in the year 2008 with the film 'Ashta Chamma'. The good looking actor's real name is Naveen Babu Ghanta. Nani is his nick name, so he adopted his nick name when he entered the Telugu film industry. Nani gave hits like 'Ala Modalaindi', 'Pilla Zamindar' and 'Paisa'. The actor won Toronto After Dark award for the Best Hero for his 2012 film 'Eega'.