From Monkey to O Teri: Bollywood love for bizarre names

As Bollywood experiments with film titles, prepare for names ranging from out-of-the-box to plain bizarre. Films on the list include the John Abraham-produced Banana, Abbas Tyrewala’s Mango, E Niwas's Total Siyapaa and Atul Agnihotri's O Teri.

Back in the day, film titles sounded serious, such as Achhut Kanya (1936), Naya Daur (1957) and Mughal-E-Azam (1960). Decades later, Bollywood has several films with rather odd-sounding titles like Monkey, Mango, Banana, and O Teri, among others.

"With such titles, the curiosity levels go up. For example, if my film's title is Monkey, people will wonder if it is about a real monkey or some person plays a character," says Bhushan Kumar, who will produce the film.

Many feel that the title helps audiences establish a connection with the film. "For a film like my mine, if I am trying to target a particular kind of audience, they will immediately connect to it. They will relate to the title and know that it's their kind of movie. Since the film deals with the youth, it made sense," says Fugly director Kabir Sadanand.



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Other films on the list include the John Abraham-produced Banana, Abbas Tyrewala’s Mango, E Niwas's Total Siyapaa and Atul Agnihotri's O Teri. "Since my film is set in north India, where my characters are stuck in some interesting situations, the title gels well with the storyline," explains Atul, while adding that there's also an Aamir Khan connection. "Of course, the title is associated with Aamir's character from Andaz Apna Apna (1994). If need be, I am ready to ask for his permission to use it," he says.

Other upcoming films with out-of-the-box titles include Yeh Hai Bakrapur, Gang of Ghosts, Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi and Ghoomketu. "When you have an out of-the-box title, it remains in your memory. It will always be beneficial for a film," adds Atul.