Ahaan Panday is thought to be his real name, even though his father, Chikki Panday, and uncle, Chunky Panday, use their nicknames.

But in a recent interview, the Saiyaara star made a shocking revelation. Yash Raj Films, the studio that eventually launched him, has strong ties to both him and his sister, Alanna Panday, who have other "Hindu names."

Ahaan is the son of businessman Aloke "Chikki" Panday and author and fitness specialist Deanne Panday. The siblings have two names because Ahaan's mother is Christian and his father is Hindu.

Talking with The Hollywood Reporter India about why he chose to make his Bollywood debut with Yash Raj Films' Saiyaara, even as he had other offers, Ahaan said, "I think it goes back to my grandmother; that was the person close to me whom I lost. Yash Raj Films was a dream for me, it was the cinema I grew up with, the cinema my grandmother dreamed I would be a part of. She used to call me ‘Raj’ all the time. My sister’s Hindu name is Chandni, based on the film Chandni, and my Hindu name is Yash; we’re big filmy Yash Raj [Films] lovers."

He decided to wait once Aditya Chopra from YRF promised to launch him. "When Adi sir asked me, it was instinctive because I believed it was my destiny. It was just this childhood dream of mine; I’ve seen these heroes my whole life, emulated them, looked up to them and that was [what I wanted to be] the first chapter of my professional life. I’ll look back on this and be very happy, and I know my grandmother would be very happy. It was her dream for me to be an actor; I wanted to be a writer. Somewhere, I did this for her," the actor added.