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Bombay-Mumbai Puzzle in Bollywood movies   

Bombay-Mumbai Puzzle in Bollywood movies

The old phrase from Shakespeare – ‘What’s in a Name’ is no more relevant in the camps of Censor Board. Recently, the board was seen embarking with a list of many cuss words, which prevent the filmmakers. Ironically, the recently released list had the term Bombay in it, which is being considered as the cuss word or objectionable terminology. This game in light when the singer Mihir Joshi was seen to put beep with the term Bombay in his tracks as called Sorry. With such diktat turning a reality, what would be its repercussion on Bollywood movies would be interesting to catch up? So, when you add a beep at a number of songs and movies seen in Bollywood, how would they appear, let’s have a look at these:

Be ready to get rid of Bombay

If you remember the movie of Karan Johar called Wake Up Sid released in the year 2009, the film was in debate for Ranbir uttering the word Bombay too many times than Mumbai in it. A regional group in Mumbai was seen agitating till Karan Johar apologized for its usage wherein he was seen putting a first frame in his movie starring Ranbir and Konkana Sen Sharma. However, you can find Joseph Varghese the NY based filmmaker refusing to tread the path of Karan Johar. He kept his film Bombay Summer unchanged since he claimed that his movie is showing a city in transition. However, when the movie passes from the censor board, it would appear like Beep Summer.

The wacky Pitch

The 2013 movie Bombay Talkies was fortunate enough to escape from the censor board scissor. In case, if the movie has hit the theatres in these days, then the movie could been like this – Beep Talkies and its song, which was Apna Bombay Talkies sung by a number of singers could have been Beep Talkies Haan Beep Talkies, apna cinema haan Beep Talkies. Will you ever like to listen such songs with beeps in it? Similarly, the upcoming movie of Anurag Kashyap will be in a big trouble as the censor board would compel him to call the movie Bombay Velvet at Beep Velvet. The song Or Kya Yeh Beep Hai. Even the movie Bombay Boys starring Rahul Bose and the veteran Naseeruddin Shah will be known as Beep Boys in the modern day.

Safe rather than sorry

There are many filmmakers who were treading the right path by releasing the movie with a title having Mumbai in it. For example the remake of Joy Mukherjee’s film called Love in Bombay starring Waheeda Rahman was released way back in 2013, around four decades before. The movie had its new name Love in Mumbai, after it is sagacious to be safer than sorry. Even the Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi starrer film – Once upon a Time in Mumbai, which showcased older city had the new name, which do not give the censor board to make like this Once Upon a Time in Beep.

Wrapping up

The Bombay-Mumbai debate has come a long way. People calling the city as Bombay is considered to be an abuse by certain regionalist groups based in the city and even in the state of Maharashtra. However, talking in terms of Bollywood, such restrictions sound too weird to remain in force.

Manoj L

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