Kareena changes her name post marriage

After a lot of speculation regarding Kareena changing her name post marriage, she has finally gone for a change in her maiden name. Henceforth, Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor will be called Kareena Kapoor Khan. During the trailer launch of her upcoming movie ‘Satyagraha’ Kareena Kapoor’s name flashed on screen as Kareena Kapoor Khan. Kareena got married to Saif Ali Khan who is Muslim by religion. Bollywood wondered if Kareena will also change her name and if she would convert to Islam like her mother-in-law Sharmila Tagore. Sharmila Tagore was a Bengali Hindu before she married Nawab Pataudi who was a Muslim. She changed her religion and became a Muslim after marriage. Her name was changed to Ayesha Sultana.

However, Kareena did not change her religion post marriage and she was called by her paternal title only. The couple went for a registered marriage first followed by traditional dinner.  It is only recently that she has changed her maiden name to ‘Khan’. According to Indian style, it is customary to include husband’s maiden name after wife’s first name. The other celebrity who changed her maiden name post marriage is Aishwarya Rai. After marriage with Abhishek Bachchan, she is now called Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Even Saif’s first wife Amrita Singh, who is a Sikh by religion, changed to Islam during their marriage in 1991. But Kareena seems to be following a different trend and will follow Hindu traditions post marriage. Even husband Saif is in complete agreement with her decision. Before their marriage Saif had said, “I would never want her (Kareena) to change her religion. That is the trouble with religion really... it expects conversion. I don’t buy or believe that. I think it`s good that the government, too, has - unless I’m misinformed about the law - amended to include it in the Special Marriages Act. If and when we do get married, no one has to change his or her religion.”
Kareena after her marriage was keen on changing her name. But she openly clarified that changing her name would not change her religious beliefs and faiths. She has been visiting church since childhood as her mother Babita is a Catholic and would continue to do so. She also told that she would be celebrating various festivals, be it Holi or Eid.
This shows a changing trend in the society. With time, the royal titles seem to become ambiguous and probably might even vanish in times to come.