Malaika Arora recently talks about her popularity in Bollywood

• Malaika Arora discussed her professional life.
• Malaika and Arbaaz divorced in May 2017.
• Malaika discussed co-parenting with Arbaaz.

Malaika Arora recently discussed how being married to Arbaaz Khan gave her fame in Bollywood and connections to the Khan family. After a 19-year marriage, Malaika and Arbaaz divorced in May 2017. Malaika recalls people telling her that the surname carried a lot of ‘weightage.’ when she made the decision to shed the “Khan” surname and revert to her maiden one.

In 1998, Malaika and Arbaaz were wed. The announcement of their split, which was finalised in 2017, came in March 2016. Arhaan Khan, their kid from their relationship, is being raised by both of them.

Malaika was asked about her success being linked to the Khan family during the India Today Conclave 2023. I don’t think I could rest on the fact that I had a famous surname, she retorted, “It did have a lot of benefits in my life but I don’t think I could rest on the fact that I had a famous surname. I don’t think that was my endow to everything I wanted to do in my life. It did open up a lot of doors for me but I think at the end of the day I have to work irrespective of my married surname. And, I had to work hard and prove myself every single day of my life to stay in the game. And, the day I had the surname name and I went back to my maiden name I still continued to work, make a difference.”

“I had loads of people tell me that I am making the biggest mistake of dropping the surname. A lot of people telling me ‘you don’t realise the weightage a surname has.’ I have a lot of respect for my ex-inlaws and ex-family, they have given me a lot of love. I have a kid, and I am very much part of the family, but for me, I needed to stand on my own two feet…and not just about the surname. For me being able to drop the surname and going back to my maiden surname, it just gave me a sense of self. That just made me feel I could take on or do anything in life,” Malaika added.

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