Jackie Shroff’s wife, Ayesha, has spilled the beans that Katrina Kaif’s real name is Katrina Turquotte and this is apparently what it says on her passport. She changed her name while making her first movie Boom because her original name was too difficult to pronounce. Actors and actresses often change their names and embellish their origins – so why the big mystery in this case? Perhaps it’s because she has always claimed to have had a Kashmiri absent father and was therefore essentially Indian. However, Turquotte of course is far from being an Indian name – but could conceivably be north African or French Muslim – nothing at all to be ashamed of but not Indian.
Today, Katrina picks up her Rajiv Gandhi Award, along with Shahid Kapoor, at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai. Hrithik Roshan, who won the award in 2004, will be performing live for the first time in three years at the ceremony – as will Priyanka Chopra. The awards are given to leaders who provide inspiration in thirteen different categories, two of which are Best Actor and Best Actress. The winners last year were Saif Ali Khan and Lara Dutta.
