Popular dancer and actress, Malaika Arora recently opened up about people's warning to her, against removing 'Khan' from her surname after she divorced her ex-husband, Arbaaz Khan. For the unversed, she was earlier married to Bollywood actor, Arbaaz Khan. Together, they are also blessed with a son, Arhaan Khan. And after living in a marital bliss for almost 19 years, Malaika got separated from him. Now, Malaika is in a relationship with Arjun Kapoor. On the other hand, Arbaaz is dating model, Giorgia Andriani.
In a candid conversation while her appearance at India Today Conclave 2023, Malaika Arora was asked about the benefits she had in her life post marrying Arbaan Khan. For the uninitiated, counting about the privileges, Malaika got the chance to be part of the iconic songs, including Munni Badnaam Hui, Anarkali Disco Chali and others. However, Malaika mentioned that even after getting benefited from the support, it wasn't everything whatever she wanted to do in her life. Malaika said:
“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.”
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In the same conversation, Malaika Arora mentioned how after her divorce with Arbaaz Khan people had warned her to drop the surname 'Khan' from her name. She mentioned that she has immense respect for her ex-inlaws. However, she wanted to stand on her own foot. Thus, she was able to drop the surname, and added:
“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 was also asked about co-parenting Arhaan with Arbaaz. To this, Malaika said that though she and her ex-husband, Arbaaz Khan disagree on several matters, they form a unit while co-parenting their son, Arhaan. For the unknown, we have also spotted them together while receiving their son or seeing off him at the airport. Thus, explaining how Malaika and Arbaaz are proud that they are co-existing for their kid, Malaika added:
“Co-parenting is always tough, you’re not always on the same page about a lot of things. Especially when you go your separate ways, there’s always something that doesn’t quite fit into the picture. But thankfully, both Arbaaz and me are better humans today, we’re better people today. We’re proud of the fact that we can co-exist, no love lost, and give our child all the attention that he needs, he deserves. We’re there for him every step of the way, irrespective of whether his parents are together. But, we are together as a unit. I think that’s what matters.”
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Currently, Malaika and Arjun are living their "pre-honeymoon period" to its fullest. Glimpses of the same are often found on their IG handles. For instance, just ahead of the release of Arjun Kapoor's much-awaited film, Kuttey, his girlfriend, Malaika had taken to her Instagram handle to applaud the movie starring him. Sharing the film's poster, Malaika had lauded the film's cast and called it a cracker of a film. Soon, resharing the story, Arjun had called Malaika his "biggest cheerleader!"
On the work front, Malaika Arora was last seen in her comedy reality show, Moving In With Malaika.
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