Do You Know The Real Names Of These 12 Tollywood Divas?

Nayantara is one of the heroines who delivered blockbusters in all South Indian languages. When we say Nayantara almost every movie goer in South Indian recognizes her. But that’s not her real name. She was born as Diana Mariam Kurian in an Orthodox Malayali Syrian Christina family. There are two speculations for her name change; one is because she got converted into Hinduism and the other is when she forayed into industry she adopted a different screen name. Yet there is no accurate info about why exactly she changed her name.

Yoga teacher turned heroine Anushka Shetty garnered a good number of audience in South India by delivering versatile performances. After Baahubali she is known to the world. Anushka hails from Mangalore and belongs to Thuluva ethnic identity. Her real name is Sweety Shetty which she later changed to the screen name of Anushka.

Telugu audience know Bhumika from Pawan Kalyan starrer Khushi. Later she acted in several other movies in Tollywood and other languages. She has also appeared in Indian Cricketer M.S. Dhoni’s biopic M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story. She also appeared in Zee TV series ‘Hip Hip Hurray’ but not many know her real name.  She has changed her name from Rachna Chawla to Bhumika Chawla when she entered the industry.

Soundarya was once one of the most favourite actresses who impressed all. However, Soundarya was not her real name. She was born as Soumya Satyanarayana. After entering into the industry she changed it to Soundarya.

Raasi is one of the child artists who rose to stardom later as a heroine. Mantra was her birth name which later she changed to Raasi. In few movies in the beginning of her career, she was credited as Mantra.

Sultry actress Ramba took over South India with her glamorous performances. She was a heartthrob of youth when she was active in the industry. She was born as Vijayalakshmi but later changed her screen name to Ramba.

Yesteryear heroine Jayasudha was one of the most sought after heroines in Tollywood. After her acting career as heroine ended she shifted to do supporting roles and became one of the most sought after supporting artist till today. She has received 5 Nandi Awards. Her name was Sujatha Nidudavolu but changed it to Jayasudha as there was already an actress with the same name.

Jaya Prada acted in all the South Indian movies industries and also in Hindi, Marathi, and Bengali. She is one of the popular yesteryear actresses in Tollywood who was born in Rajamundry and was named as Lalita Rani but after entering Tollywood she changed her name to Jaya Prada.

Sexy actress Silk Smitha took over South India by storm. A Bollywood movie made with her story explains how famous she was in the industry. When she entered the industry as a D Grade actress, she changed her name to Smitha as her stage name. After her well-acclaimed role as 'Silk' in the movie Vandichakkaram in 1979, her name became ‘Silk Smitha’.

Actress Roja was one of the popular actress turned character artist. She has debuted in Telugu film industry with 'Prema Thapassu' beside Rajendra Prasad. Later she acted in almost all south Indian movie industries. Roja was born as Sree Latha who later changed her screen name to Roja.

Ageless actress Sri Devi is very popular. She started her film career as a child artist. Then she has debuted in the industry as a lead actress when she was 16 years old and had a long lasting career in the film industry. She has acted not only in South Indian films but also in Bollywood. Sri Devi’s real name was Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan which she changed to Sri Devi as her screen name.

Nagma was one of the most popular actresses during 1990’s. Though she debuted in the film industry with a Bollywood movie Baaghi: A Rebel For Love beside Salman Khan, she is more popular in Telugu and Tamil movie industries. Her original name was Nandita Arvind Morarji which she later changed it to Nagma.