New Delhi: Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan took their fans by surprise when they rechristened themselves Charlie and Nandu Bhide, respectively, on social networking site Twitter today.
This sudden craze for new monikers can be traced back to upcoming film Happy New Year, in which both SRK and Abhishek star.
Others from the cast of Happy New Year also followed suit. Deepika Padukone changed her name to Mohini, Sonu Sood changed his to Jag, while Boman Irani is now called Tammy and Vivaan Shah is Roshan. (Also Read: Learned so Much From Shah Rukh Khan During Happy New Year, says Vivaan Shah)
The current trend of Bollywood celebs changing names as their films approach release date or even for events related to their films has picked up fast. Before the cast of Happy New Year, actors like Riteish Deshmukh, Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Sonam Kapoor changed their names as their respective films geared up to hit the box office.
Last month Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh had three back-to-back releases - Humshakals, Ek Villain and Lai Bhaari -- and he changed his Twitter handle for every release.
Riteish's co-stars from Ek Villain, Shraddha Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra, also prefixed 'Villain' to their names.
Similarly, prior to the release of Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya, Varun Dhawan became Varun 'Humpty' Sharma while Alia Bhatt rechristened herself Alia 'Kaavya' Bhatt.
At the time of Raanjhanaa's release, Sonam Kapoor, Tamil superstar Dhanush and director Aanand Rai prefixed Raanjhanaa to their names.
Changing names on Twitter handles invoke curiosity about the actor's character and the film itself, therefore widening the reach of their film. Just one reason why social media deserves a slow clap from publicity-hungry Bollywood.
The trailer of Happy New Year is all set to release on August 15, parceled with Rohit Shetty's Singham Returns. The film, directed by Farah Khan, is scheduled to release on October 23.
Apun ne apna nam change kar dala! #NanduBhide#HNY#HappyNewYear
-- Nandu (@juniorbachchan) August 13, 2014
Others from the cast of Happy New Year also followed suit. Deepika Padukone changed her name to Mohini, Sonu Sood changed his to Jag, while Boman Irani is now called Tammy and Vivaan Shah is Roshan. (Also Read: Learned so Much From Shah Rukh Khan During Happy New Year, says Vivaan Shah)
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Last month Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh had three back-to-back releases - Humshakals, Ek Villain and Lai Bhaari -- and he changed his Twitter handle for every release.
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Similarly, prior to the release of Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya, Varun Dhawan became Varun 'Humpty' Sharma while Alia Bhatt rechristened herself Alia 'Kaavya' Bhatt.
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Changing names on Twitter handles invoke curiosity about the actor's character and the film itself, therefore widening the reach of their film. Just one reason why social media deserves a slow clap from publicity-hungry Bollywood.
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