What’s in a name? Lots, says Ghaziabad

The Sanjay Dutt-starrer political-action thriller, Zila Ghaziabad, which released yesterday, is facing severe criticism from residents of the district in UP, for portraying the place as a hub of criminal activity.

The Sanjay Dutt-starrer political-action thriller, Zila Ghaziabad, which released yesterday, is facing severe criticism from residents of the district in UP, for portraying the place as a hub of criminal activity.

Model Krishna Somani, who stays in Indirapuram, a residential area there, says that it is unfair to pinpoint Ghaziabad as an unsafe place. “I agree that Ghaziabad was the crime capital at one point of time, but things have improved a lot. I have never faced any problem here. Also, why should we talk only about Ghaziabad, it could be Zila Dilli. Is Delhi safe?” asks Somani.

“I have seen the promos of this cops-vs-robbers film and it seems that Ghaziabad is shown as a place of violent gangwars. But being a resident of the place, I can vouch that this portrayal is incorrect. This is just not done,” says Saurabh Verma, a resident of Vaishali, in Ghaziabad. Sharing the same sentiment, VP Bansal of RWA Federation Ghaziabad says, “The promos of the film tend to show our town in an unflattering light. The makers should have shown the film to some select Ghaziabad residents before releasing it.”

The film’s promos have also got the real estate fraternity in Ghaziabad worried. “We have been discussing this film amongst ourselves, and from the promos it looks like this place has been shown in a negative light. This will discourage people from buying property in Ghaziabad, and will affect our business,” says Ajay Shukla, a real estate agent.

However, Vinod Bachchan, the film’s producer, insists that Ghaziabad has been projected in a positive light in the film. “I had a lot of political pressure to hold special screenings, but I did not do it because I know there is nothing wrong in my film,” he says, adding, “I want people to watch the film and decide for themselves if the portrayal is incorrect. It’s a full-on entertaining film. Even our writer Vinay Sharma is from Ghaziabad. I am proud of the film and can tell you that it will bring the small town of Ghaziabad into limelight.”

Bollywood 2013: film names that will have places in them
Bollywood’s penchant to name films after places is old and time-tested. Be it An Evening in Paris (1967) or the Big B-starrer Bombay to Goa (1972) or later Bombay (1995), places have defined films. And this year too, at least 8 films, which have names of places in their titles, will be released. Some big ticket films in this list include, Sanjay Gupta’s multi-starrer Shootout At Wadala, Akshay Kumar starrer Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2, Madras Café, which has John in the lead, and the SRK and Deepika Padukone-starrer Chennai Express.