The tale behind the two names

Rajkumar Yadav of 'Kai Po Che' and 'Shahid' fame took everyone by surprise by the sudden announcement that henceforth he will be credited as Rajkummar Rao in his films.

Buzz is that he felt it sounded too similar to comedian Rajpal Yadav’s name and that he had been planning the change since long. After the recent controversy involving Rajpal, Rajkummar finalised his decision.

It was not a move that was foreseen, considering he is already a known name in the industry. The actor explains, “Yes my name will be Rajkummar Rao henceforth. My mother asked me to add the extra ‘m’ in my name. As for my surname change, Rao and Yadav have the same meaning in Haryana. I felt it was better to make the change now before it gets too late since I have a lot of big banner films coming up.”

Rajkummar’s next big release is 'Queen' opposite Kangna Ranaut. However, it is the actress who has been highlighted in the promos, but Rajkummar does not seem to mind.

“It is meant to be a woman-centric film but I have a good role and it’s different from the serious characters I’ve portrayed in my past films. Everyone is loving the promo and I’m getting great reviews over social networking sites. My friends and family are dying to watch the film.”