Padmavat is not the only one to have a name change

Twitterati had a field day when the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) suggested that ‘i’ should be dropped from the original title, but finally, Bhansali went ahead and made that change. In the past, too, filmmakers have faced the ire of some groups, associations or the CBFC when it came to names of their movies. In most cases, they had to make that crucial change, while in a few, they have been allowed to go ahead with their original thought or idea. Here are some such examples…
RUNNING SHAADI
Last year, a copyright infringement case saw director Amit Roy releasing his Runningshaadi.com as Running Shaadi. In the rom-com, Taapsee Pannu and Amit Sadh start a matrimonial website. But a popular matrimonial site felt that the title bore a resemblance to their domain name. So, the makers were dragged to court. However, no other changes were asked for, and the movie released on the date that it had been scheduled for.
UDTA PUNJAB
In 2016, Udta Punjab courted several controversies before it hit the marquee. However, one of the things that saw the Twitteratti have a field day was when there was a buzz about ‘Punjab’ being asked to drop from the title. Right from #UdtaMazaak doing the rounds to some hilarious tweets such as director Shirish Kunder writing, ‘After removing Punjab from ‘Udta Punjab’ Censor Board to remove Daro from #MohenjoDaro from all dry states Like Gujarat and Bihar’ (sic), the social media showed full support to the filmmakers. Finally, good sense prevailed and the movie was allowed to release with its original name.
TOTAL SIYAPAA
Aman, a Pakistani musician is in love with Asha, an Indian woman living in London. So the makers of the 2014 rom-com, which featured Ali Zafar and Yami Gautam as the star-crossed lovers, were quite gung-ho about the movie that was predictably called Aman Ki Asha. However, since a publication had a copyright over the term, the movie was renamed Total Siyapaa.
GOLIYON KI RAASLEELA: RAM-LEELA
Bhansali’s 2013 film had faced the same fate as Padmavati. The filmmaker wanted the Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh-starrer to be released as Ram-Leela. But some religious groups objected, reasoning that it was misleading as the story had nothing to do with the Ramayana. After a court order, Goliyon Ki Raasleela was added to the title.
MADRAS CAFE
Shoojit Sircar’s 2013 political spy thriller, featuring John Abraham and Nargis Fakhri, was previously called Jaffna. Set at the time of the Sri Lankan civil war, John played an Indian Army special officer, who is appointed by the Research and Analysis Wing to head covert operations in the northern province city, after the Indian peace-keeping force was forced to withdraw. However, following objections from Sri Lankans who felt the metropolis was shown in a bad light, the film was renamed as Madras Cafe, a fictional place where the plot to kill former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was hatched.