Brouhaha over Bombay?

Movies that have a period setting, like Bombay Velvet, can use the city’s former name in their title

Over 28 years after Mani Ratnam's Bombay (1995), writer-director Sanjay Niranjan has christened his next, Bombay. The title, he believes, is fitting as the Gavie Chahal-led movie revolves around the lives of the underworld dons in the aftermath of the 1993 Bombay blasts. While Niranjan has registered the title with the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA), he is now awaiting the censor board's clearance on the matter. In the past, the CBFC has discouraged filmmakers from including the former name of the city in their movie titles. Exceptions can only be made in case of narratives that are set before 1995 - the year that the city's name was officially changed to Mumbai.

The director (right) with Akshita Agnihotri and Danish Bhat

Niranjan is hopeful that he won't have to rechristen his offering, as it is set between 1992 and 1995.

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Mani Ratnam's Bombay (1995), which revolved around the 1992-93 riots, was filmed before the city's name was changed to Mumbai

I have the title registered with me from the IMPPA, and have applied for [clearance] from the censor board. The Bombay Stock Exchange is still called so today. My story is from 1992, when the city used to be called Bombay. So, changing it to Mumbai won't do. My film begins a year before the Bombay bomb blasts, and revolves around how the lives of the underworld people got affected in the following three years," shares Niranjan.

In the past, some artistes had run-ins with the censor board and certain political parties, for using the erstwhile name of the city. In 2015, the CBFC beeped out the word from Mihir Joshi's song titled Sorry. The same year, the board also instructed producer Ashok Kaul to change his film's title from Bombay Central to Mumbai Central. Fortunately, Bombay Velvet (2015) did not face the axe from CBFC as the movie was set in the 1960s.

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