Malaika Arora who got a divorce from Arbaaz Khan after 14 years of marriage, has revealed how people told her not to drop ‘Khan’ from her surname, News18 reported.

She 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. "

She further said: "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."

The actor-dancer continued, "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," she added.