The Bollywood industry without controversies is like the Indian dishes without spicy masala. Sometimes the controversies are around the love front of Bollywood celebrities and sometimes controversies trap the professional projects of the celebs. We have witnessed instances where the social groups or people, raise their voices against the story of the movie or it is the censor board that decides to shelve the movie. Trying to ditch the controversies, some filmmakers even changed the titles of their movies. So, today here we bring you a list of the top 8 Bollywood movies that had to change their original titles due to public controversies:
1. Prithviraj to Samrat Prithviraj: Just a week before the release of Akshay Kumar’s one of the most anticipated movies of 2022, the makers of Prithviraj decided to change the name of the movie to Samrat Prithviraj. The move from the team came after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by Shree Rajput Karni Sena, through Advocate Raghavendra Mehrotra.
2. Padmavati to Padmaavat: Padmaavat is undoubtedly one of the most controversial releases of all time. The controversies reached a point where the death threats were delivered to the star cast of the movie. After announcing a bounty on Deepika’s head, the protestors decided to settle on just one ‘I’. All the protestors chilled down after the makers decided to change the title from Padmavati to Padmaavat.
3. Laxmi Bomb to Laxmii: When the project starring Akshay Kumar was announced it was titled as Laxmi Bomb. But soon some religious groups associated the name with Hindu goddess Laxmi and found the word bomb derogatory in nature and hurting the sentiments of the Hindus. To settle down the protests taking place against the movie, the filmmakers changed the name of the film from Laxmi Bomb to Laxmi.
4. Billu Barber to Billu: One of the most light-hearted and filled with heartwarming comedies, Billu was enjoyed by everyone. But before the release, it seemed to hurt too many. according to a report in the Times of India, the film was highly criticized by hair stylists as they said that the term “barber” sounds offensive. To settle down the matter, the community gave two choices to the filmmaker. First, they either replace the word barber with the hairdresser or remove the word, Barber. Keeping everyone happy, the makers choose the second option.
5. Raamleela to Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela: Padmaavat is not a controversial project of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Deepika’s career. Before that SLB and Deepika were forced to change the name of their movie Ramleela after a petition was filed against the movie for hurting the religious sentiments by using the name of Lord Ram in the title.
6. Mental Hai Kya to Judgemental Hai Kya: According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the Indian Medical Association, the Indian Psychiatric Society and Deepika Padukone’s The Live Love Laugh Foundation criticized the film and appealed for a revision of the name, as the current puts mental health in a negative light.
7. Loveratri to Loveyatri: Following the love story of a couple who fell in love while playing Garba together, fell into controversy after Vishwa Hindu Parishad filed a complaint against Salman Khan and a team of Loveyatri for mocking the Hindu festival. Eventually, the name of the film had to be changed and Salman Khan announced the development on social media.
8. Rambo Rajkumar to R… Rajkumar: Directed by Prabhudeva, the original choice for the name was Rambo Rajkumar, given it was a romantic action movie. However, there can only be one Rambo, at least according to the copyright of the Hollywood film franchise. Because of this mounting pressure and opposition from the Hollywood filmmakers, as per a report in TOI, Rambo Rajkumar became R… Rajkumar
