Malaika Arora's father Anil's surname fuels intrigue among netizens: 'Is he her stepfather?'

Malaika Arora with mom Joyce, sister Amrita and father Anil

Bollywood star Malaika Arora shared a statement after her father Anil Kuldip Mehta's demise on Wednesday. While earlier, media reports cited his name as Anil Arora, the actress's official statement and the name of her father that she used has left the netizens confused.

Taking to her Instagram, Malaika shared a note in which she said that the family is still in shock, and requested privacy in these testing times. However, as soon as the actress put up the post, Internet users in the comments section wondered about the last name of her father.

One Internet user wrote, "How come her last name is Arora and her father's last name is Mehta?" Another wrote, "Is he her stepfather?" Some users also pointed out the difference in the ages of Malaika, and Anil as the latter is only 12 years older than her.

A user wrote, "Father's age is just 12 years more than her? How". Other users didn't take this comment lightly. One replied to the comment, saying, "He's her step-father."

A close source told IANS that he was indeed her stepfather.

Anil Mehta fell from the 6th floor of his residence in the Ayesha Manor building in the Bandra area of Mumbai at around 9:00 am on Wednesday while the actress was on her way to Pune for an event.

Malaika was born in Thane, Maharashtra. Her parents got divorced when she was 11 years old, and she moved to Chembur with her mother and sister Amrita Arora. Her mother, Joyce Polycarp, is a Malayali Christian, and her father, Anil Arora, was a Punjabi, who worked in the Indian Merchant Navy.

Reportedly, Joyce Polycarp, the mother of Malaika and Amrita Arora has shared the details about the tragic incident involving her ex-husband, Anil Arora with the cops in the Mumbai Police. Joyce was in the house when the unfortunate incident took place. As per media reports, on the morning of the incident, she noticed Anil's slippers in the living room, which led her to search for him on the balcony.

When she didn't find him on the balcony, she leaned over the balcony railing and looked below. This was when she realised something was terribly wrong. As per reports, Anil had called both his daughters saying, "I'm tired" before he allegedly fell off the balcony.