‘People said I was making the biggest mistake’: Malaika Arora on dropping the Khan surname

Malaika Arora recently talked about her popularity in Bollywood being associated with the Khan family as she was married to Arbaaz Khan.

Malaika and Arbaaz parted ways in May 2017 after 19 years of marriage. Talking about her decision to drop the ‘Khan’ surname and go back to her maiden one, Malaika recalled people telling her that the surname came with a lot of ‘weightage.’

Malaika and Arbaaz got married in 1998. Their separation announcement came in March 2016, and was finalised the next year. They have a son together, Arhaan Khan, whom they are co-parenting.

Malaika at the India Today Conclave 2023 was asked about her success being attributed to the Khan family.

. She replied, “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.

During the event, Malaika also touched upon raising son Arhaan and co-parenting with Arbaaz. She also talked about her career and how she managed to stay relevant even after years in the industry. Malaika was last seen in her reality show, Moving In With Malaika.

The custody of the son after the divorce is with Malaika, while Arbaaz has visitation rights on his son, as per the settlement reached in the Bandra Family Court.

Malaika has been in a relationship with actor Arjun Kapoor since 2016.

She completed her secondary education from Swami Vivekanand School in Chembur. Her aunt, Grace Polycarp, was the principal of the school. She is also an alumnus of the Holy Cross High School Thane where she studied until ninth grade. She pursued her college education from Jai Hind College, Churchgate but did not complete it on account of professional engagements. She lived in Borla Society, Chembur opposite Basant Talkies before starting her modelling career.