Sajal Ali changed her name on Instagram and Pakistani social media is losing it

Nothing escapes the prying eyes of social media — including actor Sajal Ali and her recent surname change on Instagram, a move that triggered an avalanche of panic and fan tears on Twitter.

The Sinf-e-Ahan star recently changed her Instagram name from 'Sajal Ahad Mir' to 'Sajal Ali'. She had taken on the surname 'Ahad Mir' after her marriage to actor Ahad Raza Mir in 2020, and displayed it on Instagram shortly after.

We have no idea why Ali changed her surname on Instagram since the actor hasn't given any reason for the change. In the absence of a reason from the actor, we have no place to speculate about something as personal as her marriage. Maybe the reason is as simple as wanting to own her name and her identity as an individual, separate from the roles she has taken on after marriage. Would Ali be the first celebrity on the planet to do so? No at all. Priyanka Chopra removed 'Jonas' from her surname in 2021 and while many thought the move indicated a falling out with husband Nick Jonas, Chopra soon laid those rumours to rest.

Sajal Ali's name-change triggered a flurry of reactions from hardcore fans on Twitter, many of whom speculated about whether things were well between her and Raza Mir.

"Okay so Sajal changed her username from Sajal Ahad Mir to Sajal Ali," one user tweeted. "There were many rumours but still I don't know how to feel about this. This is so heartbreaking. I don't have enough words."

"You know what hurts the most? This! I always had them in my 'recents' because I stalked them all the time. [I would be more happy] seeing Sajal Ahad Mir and Ahad Raza Mir," tweeted another user.

Some felt Ali really was "pulling a Priyanka Chopra" and her change in surname didn't indicate the worst.

However, not everyone was able to console themselves. For some 'Sahad' fans (as Ali and Raza Mir fans call themselves), Ali changing her surname was painful beyond words.

"The past 4 hours have been nothing but pain," said one user.

Their pain was 'multiple tweets' painful. These are confusing times for Sahad fans.

"I’ve never felt this way though I don't know what’s up," they shared.

Some fans requested others to respect Ali and Raza Mir regardless of whatever rumours are floating around on social media.

Back in January, Ali spoke about her relationship with Raza Mir in an interview to Icon, responding to concerns about how the two have not been seen together in public since a while time and things are not well between them. While the actor did not address the topic directly, she did talk about Raza Mir with fondness. “Ahad has talked about me a lot in his past interviews but, somehow, I’m only doing it now,” she said. “It’s just that I rarely give interviews and I worry that, if I’ll get asked about Ahad, I’ll just end up going on and on!"