On Thursday, makers of the upcoming movie Laxmmi Bomb changed its name to Laxmii after some Hindu outfits took offence over the title. Several Hindu outfits protested against the title Laxmmi Bomb saying that it hurt religious sentiments insulting Goddess Laxmi. Karni Sena had reportedly sent a legal notice to the makers of the film demanding the movie title to be changed. As the makers went for censor certificate on Thursday, they decided to change the title to Laxmii.
However this is not the first time that a movie title had to be changed to prevent public outrage. Take a look at some of the Bollywood movies that changed their names in past:
Padmaavat
Originally titled Padmavati, this Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie from 2018 was the bone of contention for the Hindu group Karni Sena. The Hindu outfit presumed that the movie showed Rajput Queen Padamavati romancing Muslim ruler Sultan Alauddin Khilji, which was not acceptable to them. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asked Bhansali to change the name of the historical drama Padmavati to Padmaavat, after the 16th Century epic that it is an adaptation of.
Judgemental Hai Kya
Starring Kangana Ranaut and Rajkumar Rao. this 2019 movie was originally titled Mental Hai Kya. The title was changed after mental health advocates urged the makers to consider the sensitivity attached to the issue. The makers also muted the mention of the word ‘mental’ in the movie.
Billu
Directed by Priyadarshan, the movie was originally named Billu Barber. Starring Irrfan Khan, Lara Dutta, and Shah Rukh Khan in the lead roles, the movie released in 2009. However, it received backlash from the association of hair stylists who claimed that the word ‘Barber’ hurt their sentiments. The makers decided to drop the word Barber and titled it just Billu.
Madras Café
This 2013 movie was originally titled Jaffna, a place located in Sri Lanka. Directed by Shoojit Sircar, the film is a political action drama film tracing the story of an army officer who is appointed by the intelligence agency R.A.W. to head covert operations in Jaffna shortly after Indian peace-keeping force was withdrawn. The movie starred John Abraham and Nargis Fakhri. The title was changed after it was pointed out that it shows Sri Lanka in bad light.
Total Siyapaa
This romantic comedy film directed by Eeshwar Nivas and written by Neeraj Pandey starred Ali Zafar and Yami Gautam in the lead role. The movie was titled Aman ki Aasha originally based on the name of lead characters, Aman (Ali), a Pakistani man who falls in love with Asha (Yami), an Indian woman. However, ‘Aman Ki Aasha’ is a popular social initiative started by The Jang group of Pakistan and The Times Of India in India who held the copyright of the term. Hence, the movie title had to be changed to Total Siyapaa which released in 2014.