Shakespeare once said "What's in the name?", ya jaise humare filmo mein kehte hain "Naam mein kya rakha hain?". However, as far as Bollywood movies are concerned, name is a very important part of the package. It is one of the primary things that enables people in making a decision about watching or not watching a movie.
Our movie names fall into the following major categories:
Jaisa Naam Waisa Kaam
These are the films with straightforward and clear names. What they name is what they mean. You know whether you fall into the intended audience for the film simply by reading the name. You can also make out the genre and the overview of the story from the name.
Some examples that fall in this section include
- Luck
- Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
- Kuch Kuch Hota Hain
- Road
- Love Aaj Kal
- Chandani Chowk to China
- Hum Aapke Hain Kaun
- Maine Pyar Kiya
- Yeh Dillagi
- Kaho Na Pyar Hain
- Mohobbatein
- No Smoking
- Jism
- Coolie
- Biwi No. 1
- Atank Hi Atank
- Prem Deewane
- Sanam Bewafa
- Bhoot
- Judwaa
- Pati, Patni, Aur Woh
- Jeena Sirf Mere Liye
- Bachna Aye Haseeno
- Fightclub
- Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
- Main Madhuri Dixit Banana Chahti Hoon
and so on....
This category proudly boasts of those films jinke naam aur content mein koi taal-mel hona zaroori nahin hain. Films with abstract names also fall into this section.
You cannot make out the content of the movie by simply reading the name, and thus, this doesn't allow a yes/no decision making process as far as watching the movie is concerned. The viewer is expected to think and read between the lines to understand the significance of the name.
Basically, you just watch the movie because you want to or because you have heard it is good, but if you want to find out the significance of the name, you need to put your grey cells to work.
Some such movies include:
- Parineeta
- Dor
- Black
- Taare Zameen Par
- Manorama Six Feet Under
- Dhoop
- Kachche Dhaage
- 3 Deewarein
- 99
- Bheja Fry
- Parzania
- Astitva
- Maharathi
Kya Farak Padta Hain
The films that fall into this category are either those that are so pathetic that the name doesn't matter, or those made by established film-makers or actors for which the maker's or actor's name is far more important. In either case, they arouse a lot of curiosity and attract strong viewership at least initially after the film opens. The films kismat ultimately depends on the viewers' response.
Some examples include:
- Kaminey
- Black
- Silsila
- Maqbool
- Lamhe
- 15 Park Avenue
- Mr. India
- Ta Ra Rum Pum
- Baabarr
- Gajagamini
There are some names that have been used and reused for ages. Some examples are "Dosti", "Yaarana", "Naseeb", "Kismat", "Jaaneman", various versions of "Dil" and "Pyar" etc. Are we at a loss of creative names for our films? Also, in modern times, a long name and a neat shortform increase the coolness factor of a film. This has nothing to do with the content; people just like to use nicknames! For example, I don't remember the last time I referred to "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge" by its full name...it is always "DDLJ" and similarly "Dil Toh Pagal Hain" is always "DTPH" and "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" is always "KANK". I doubt whether people in the black and white era ever called "Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi" as "CKNG" or "Do Aankhen Barah Haath" as "DABH"!!
Anyway, to stop my endless babbling, the conclusion of this entire discussion is that how much ever we try, it's very hard to figure out the nitty-gritties of the name game, the repetitions of some name over generations and the most recent addition - numerology!!
The fact remains that the name shouldn't matter and neither should the "star" cast...the success factor should always be the storyline and the performances! (How idealistic of me to even draw such a conclusion!)
