Bollywood film titles that had to be changed prior to their release due to protests, copyrights and other reasons.
Loveratri to Loveyatri
Superstar Salman Khan, who is launching brother-in-law Aayush Sharma in Bollywood, has changed the title of his new film from Loveratri to Loveyatri. The movie is set against the backdrop of Navratri, and people had objected to the title of the movie. A court in Bihar even asked the police to lodge an FIR against Salman Khan and the cast of the movie for hurting Hindu sentiments.
‘Padmavati’ to ‘Padmaavat’
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus faced a lot of protests from the fringe groups. He had to change the title of the film from ‘Padmavati’ (name of the Rajput queen) to ‘Padmaavat’ (the poem written on her) as the original name reportedly hurt the sentiments of the Rajput Karni Sena.
‘Jaffna’ to ‘Madras Cafe’
John Abraham starrer ‘Madras Cafe’ was initially named ‘Jaffna’ (location in Sri Lanka). However, protestors in Jaffna protested saying the movie puts the location in Sri Lanka in a bad light, and the title should be changed. The title was eventually changed to ‘Madras Cafe’.
‘Billu Barber’ to ‘Billu’
Filmmaker Priyadarshan’s ‘Billu’ (Irrfan Khan, Shah Rukh Khan) was originally named ‘Billu Barber’, however the association of hair stylists protested claiming that the word ‘Barber’ demeans their professions and hurt their sentiments. The makers of the film decided to drop the word ‘Barber’ from its title before the release of the film.
‘Singh Sahib The Great’ to ‘Singh Saab the Great’
The Akal Takht had raised objections to the title, ‘Singh Sahib The Great’ (starring Sunny Deol) claiming it violated Sikh traditions. Apparently the word ‘Sahib’ could only be used for the Jathedar’s of five Sikh Takhts and for the members of the Sikh clergy, occupying important positions in historical gurudwaras. The makers eventually changed the title of the film to ‘Singh Saab the Great’.
The titles of the following films had to be changed due to copyright issues.
‘Rambo Rajkumar’ to ‘R…Rajkumar’
Prabhudheva’s ‘R…Rajkumar’ (Shahid Kapoor. Sonakshi Sinha) was initially named ‘Rambo Rajkumar’ but the makers of Hollywood film franchise ‘Rambo’ objected to the use of the word ‘Rambo’ as they had the copyright of the title. So the title had to be modified before its release.
‘Aman Ki Aasha’ to ‘Total Siyapaa’
‘Total Siyapaa’ starred Ali Zafar and Yami Gautam in the lead roles. Originally, the makers named the movie ‘Aman Ki Aasha’. However, ‘Aman Ki Aasha’ is a popular social initiative started by The Jang group of Pakistan and The Times Of India in India. And apparently, the two publications held the copyright of the term. The makers eventually changed the title to ‘Total Siyapaa/.
