‘People Warned Me’: Malaika Arora Opens Up About Dropping Surname ‘Khan’ After Divorce With Arbaaz Khan
Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora were an ideal couple in Bollywood until their divorce news came in 2016. The couple got officially separated in 2017 after 19 years of marital bliss. Despite their divorce, Arbaaz and Malaika are successfully co-parenting their son, Arhaan Khan. In a recent interview, Malaika Arora opened up about how difficult it was to drop the famous surname ‘Khan’ after her divorce.
In the conversation, Malaika Arora shared how many people warned her not to drop the influential ‘khan’ surname. The ‘Chaiyan Chaiyaan’ actress said she respects the Khan family a lot but had to remove the surname to make her own identity. The actress also felt a sense of self going back to her maiden name. Sharing the same, Malaika said:
“I had loads of people tell me that I am making the biggest mistake of dropping the surname. A lot of people tell me ‘you don’t realize the weightage a surname.’ I have a lot of respect for my ex-in laws and ex-family, they have given me a lot of love. I have a kid, and I am very much part of the family, 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.”
Benefits Of Being Arbaaz Khan’s Wife
Belonging to the ‘Khan’ family itself adds a huge weightage on the identity of the actors and actresses. In Malaika Arora’s case also, there were many benefits she got because she was the wife of Salman Khan’s brother, Arbaaz Khan. She got to be featured on the iconic item songs ‘Munni Badnam Hui’ and ‘Anarkali Disco Chali’.
However despite getting privileges, Malaika feels it was not all the things she wanted in life. According to Malaika Arora, she had to work hard to prove herself and despite removing the Khan surname, she is making a difference in the film industry.
“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 and I went back to my maiden name I still continued to work, to make a difference”, Malaika Shared.
The Doting Parents
Today both Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora have moved on in their life with their respective partners. While Arbaaz Khan is dating model Georgia Andraini, Malaika Arora is in a relationship with ‘Ishaqzaade’ actor Arjun Kapoor. Despite their divorce, Arbaaz and Malaika are often spotted together with their son Arhaan Khan who lives abroad. The ‘Munni Badnam’ actress had mentioned that she and Arbaaz are a unit who will always be there for their son. Well, what’s your view on Arbaaz and Malaika’s estranged relationship?
