Malaika Arora recalls being warned against removing ‘Khan’ from surname

Malaika Arora has made some bold decisions in her life. The actor called it quits with her husband, Arbaaz Khan, after almost 19 years of togetherness. They're even blessed with a son, Arhaan Khan, who’s been quite supportive of their decision to part ways. Malaika, who’s now dating Arjun Kapoor, talked about removing ‘Khan’ from her surname and how people warned her against the same.

Recalling her decision to remove ‘Khan’ from her surname after divorce, Malaika said, “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 window 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. I had to work hard and prove myself every single day of my life to stay in the game. The day I had the surname name and I went back to my maiden name, I continued to work and make a difference.”

“I had loads of people tell me that I am making the biggest mistake of dropping the surname. A lot of people told me, ‘You don’t realise the weightage a surname has’. 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 go back to my maiden surname just gave me a sense of self. That just made me feel I could take on or do anything in life.”