Kiara Advani Birthday: Before Kiara Advani became one the big names in Bollywood and got declared as the national crush on India, she entered the Hindi film industry as Alia Advani. But just before her debut Fugly, some advice from Salman Khan made her change her name from Aaliya to Kiara and possibly changed her career path as well.
While the Bollywood beauty celebrates her big birthday today, let’s look at the reason of her name change and other lesser-known facts about the actor.
Why did Salman Khan advise Alia Advani to change her name?
Bollywood Bhaijan Salman Khan is surely one of the biggest names in Bollywood, but less people know that she is also a close family friend to Kiara. So just before her debut film, Salman gave a rather practical advice to the bidding star before her arrival on the big screen.
At the time when Kiara was going by the name Alia Advani, Alia Bhatt had already made a big name for herself in the industry with her debut film Student of the Year in 2012.
Salman pointed out that if two actresses with the same name were to appear in the lead roles, it was sure to attract media attention and unnecessary comparisons as well. While he strongly advised going with a new name, he left the final decision entirely up to her.
“Aaliya is my first name. Salman Khan suggested me to change it because of Alia Bhatt because there can’t be two actresses with the same name in Bollywood.” — Kiara Advani
Did Priyanka Chopra help in finding the name ‘Kiara’
If you are wondering if Priyanka Chopra helped directly like Salman in finding Kiara Advani’s new name, well not directly but definitely she had an impact in that. While ‘Aaliya’ Advani was watching Anjaana Anjaani in 2010, Advani fell in love with Priyanka Chopra’s character Kiara.
She liked the character so much that she saved the name in her mind for her daughter, but when the time came, she had an opportunity to claim it for herself before her debut in 2014 and as we know she did. Today even her family and friends address her as Kiara.
Who is Kiara Advani’s businessman father and family?
Kiara originates from a rich and influential family in South Mumbai. Her father Jagdeep Advani is a successful Sindhi businessman, whereas her mother, Genevieve Jaffrey, is an educator.
While originating from an non-filmy family, her family tree includes many renowned film personalities:
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Veteran Cinema Royalty: The famous actor Ashok Kumar is her step-great-grandfather, whereas actor Saeed Jaffrey is her great-uncle.
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Family Friends: Fashion model Shaheen Jaffrey is her aunt (ex-girlfriend of Salman Khan during their teenage years), and actress Juhi Chawla is a longtime family friend since childhood.
Only under one condition was she allowed by her father to enter acting: completing her education from university first.
Some lesser-known facts about Kiara Advani
Worked as a preschool teacher before her film debut
Before stepping in front of movie cameras, Kiara worked as a teacher at Early Birds Playschool in Mumbai, where her mother served as headmistress. She frequently spoke about enjoying her time taking care of kids, feeding them and teaching them nursery rhymes.
On-screen debut as a baby in a commercial
We all know about her debut film as Fugly in 2014, but her actual camera debut happened back when she was just a kid. Back in the day, she appeared in a commercial for a baby care product with her mother, Genevieve.
Bagged Karan Johar’s Lust Stories without an audition
We all know that Kiara Advani’s career broke out with Karan Johar’s Lust Stories, but a lesser-known fact is that Kiara never auditioned for her role. While the role was initially offered to Kriti Sanon, but when she could not accept the role, Karan saw Kiara and offered her the role which she ended up accepting.
Survived a near-death hotel fire in McLeodganj
During a college trip to McLeodganj, Kiara and her friends got stuck there because of heavy snowfall. While waiting for the weather to clear out, their hotel room caught fire, even though they got out unharmed, but this is a daunting experience for the actress.
Sunny Singh is a Journalist and Content Writer with a strong affinity for Bollywood and Hollywood insiders, music and more. Somewhat of a writer and poet himself, he thrives on giving life to words and deliver all you need to know about the entertainment sector.
