They say in journalism that the majority of judgement and ‘perception’ building happens at the ‘headline’ stage itself. If you have an eye-catching headline that makes you want to delve more into the subject, 9/10 times, you will read the entire matter with interest. Well, in the business of movies as well, it’s no different. The titles have always played a very important role in cultivating the perception of people regarding what they should watch and what they should probably let go of. While more often than not, makers have found the hack to achieve the right balance in terms of finalising titles that do ‘justice’ to their script, at times, we have seen people go wrong as well.
Any form of ‘publicity’ be it ‘good’ or ‘bad’ always manages to get clickbait attention and when you want your movie to create buzz, sometimes, certain makers haven’t shied away from going ahead with bold titles. All we can say is that we would like to believe that they initially wouldn’t have expected the kind of ramifications and triggering that eventually unfolded. Well, ‘we would like to believe is the key sentence here folks. Here’s bringing to you all a list of 7 such movies whose titles eventually had to be alternated due to reasons beyond the control of the cast and crew.
Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela: While the movie starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone did wonders at the box office when it was released, it had to first cross a big hurdle and go through its own set of challenges. The movie was initially titled ‘Ram Leela’ but there were complaints raised that the title indicates a religious film whereas the content isn’t remotely close to religious. It is due to this reason that they initially contemplated and then went ahead with a title change.
Padmavat: Sanjay Leela Bhansali and controversy around titles. Guess it’s a better love story than even Twilight. Either he doesn’t learn from the past or is ignorant due to which he loves to give bold titles to his movies. The Karni Sena had issued death threats and had staged many protests due to which the movie was finally released without the ‘I’ at the end. For the unversed, the movie was initially titled ‘Padmavati’. The political party had accused Bhansali of distorting history and such was the situation that there were questions on Deepika Padukone’s safety measures as well.
Loveratri: Salman Khan has always been controversy’s favourite child in B-Town and seems like controversies love Bollywood’s beloved Bhai so much that it didn’t even leave aside his brother-in-law’s debut movie. Aayush Sharma’s debut movie was initially titled ‘Loveratri’. However, the title was changed after a Hindu group alleged that it was an alleged attempt to portray their festival ‘Navratri’ in a derogatory way. Well, really?
Judgementall Hai Kya: From controversy’s favourite child aka Salman Khan to the ‘undisputed queen of controversy’ in B-Town, the journey wasn’t long by any means. This was perhaps that one movie which had controversy written all over it. Starting from a ban on Kangana Ranaut by the media to the title, we saw it all. The title of the movie was initially ‘Mental Hai Kya?’. This was however changed for a good reason as it looked down upon specially-abled individuals in a negative way.
Billu: Out of the entire list of movies mentioned here, this one has to be the weirdest. Billu starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and the late Irrfan Khan was initially titled ‘Billu Barber’. However, the word ‘Barber’ was eventually removed from the tile because apparently, the hairstylists felt that the term sounds offensive and insulting. Yes, you can pinch yourself to believe it. We understand.
Madras Cafe: This thriller starring John Abraham was based on the tragic assassination of former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. The makers had initially kept the title as ‘Jaffna’ which is a place in Sri Lanka. However, the title was later changed to ‘Madras Cafe’ following immense pressure from the neighbouring country as they felt it would show them in a bad light.
Laxmmi Bomb: Last but certainly not least, we have the example of Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani starrer ‘Laxmmi’ which is certainly very fresh in everyone’s minds. The movie was initially titled ‘Laxmi Bomb’. However, the title of the movie was eventually modified and kept as just ‘Laxmmi’ after several Hindu groups raised objections that a derogatory term like ‘bomb’ can’t go hand-in-hand with the name of their Goddess as it hurt their emotions and sentiments.
Well, adaptability is the key and it seems like moviemakers have finally found a way to ensure damage control comes what may. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet.” Well, these instances are certainly enough to prove that we don’t follow these famous lines by William Shakespeare in India. Well, at least a big ‘no’ when it comes to the ‘entertainment’ space.