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3 min readNew DelhiJul 17, 2026 06:04 PM IST
Gauri Khan on renaming Shah Rukh Khan as ‘Abhinav’ to win over her parents.
Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan have been married for 35 years, but their interfaith love story wasn’t without its hurdles. As Gauri’s parents were initially hesitant about the union, the superstar resorted to using different names just to win her family over.
In Mushtaq Sheikh’s book Shah Rukh Can, it is revealed that Shah Rukh adopted the name “Jeetender Kumar Tulli” as a tribute to two yesteryear stars. He chose “Jeetender” because his grandmother believed he resembled actor Jeetendra, and “Tulli” after late actor Rajendra Kumar, whose full name was Rajendra Kumar Tulli.
In addition to Shah Rukh Khan adopting a Hindu name for their wedding, Gauri also chose a Muslim name, ‘Ayesha’, for their nikah ceremony. “We have not told this to many people,” the actor said in the book.
In a 2008 interview, Gauri Khan explained the reason behind the name change, revealing that her parents were “obviously not” in favour of the marriage because of their interfaith relationship. She recalled that the couple chose the name “Abhinav” in an attempt to make Shah Rukh appear Hindu, later describing the decision as “really silly and very childish.”
On the show First Ladies, the interior designer-film producer told Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, “We were so young and then to take a decision to get married and to a person who is going to join films, and being from a different religion. We changed his name to Abhinav so they feel he is a Hindu boy but that was really silly and very childish.”
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Despite belonging to different faiths, the star couple has often spoken about embracing both religions and raising their children, Aryan, Suhana and AbRam Khan, with a secular outlook. In an interview with Outlook Turning Points in 2013, Shah Rukh Khan shared, “It will also keep my two children completely confused. Sometimes, they ask me what religion they belong to and, like a good Hindi movie hero, I roll my eyes up to the sky and declare philosophically, ‘You are an Indian first and your religion is humanity’, or sing them an old Hindi film ditty, ‘Tu Hindu banega na Musalmaan banega – insaan ki aulaad hai insaan banega’ set to Gangnam Style.”
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To which, Gauri Khan added, “When it’s Diwali, I lead the pooja and the family follows and on Eid, Shah Rukh leads, and we follow. I think it’s all very beautiful and the kids accept. In fact, my children are more inclined towards whatever Shah Rukh would say. For them Diwali, Eid, all are fantastic.”
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