Dhaakad, Anek, Cirkus: One word film titles are a rage again in Bollywood

A lot of upcoming Hindi films have one word titles. What’s with this sudden focus on them? Do they make any sort of impact? We talk to makers and experts to find out.

What’s the first thing we get to hear about a new film? Not the music, not the stars- the title is always the first form of connect the audience has with it. Right from a working one, to the final choice, to the film’s announcement, viewers always connect with the title first, which is why experts agree it’s importance can never be underestimated.

A host of one word title films have been announced or are in the making in Bollywood currently.

Currently, one word titles seem to be the it thing, with as many as 15 films, either in production or on the verge of release, settling on them- Akshay Kumar’s Prithviraj and Sooryavanshi, Ajay Devgn’s Maidaan, Ranveer Singh’s Cirkus, Sidharth Malhotra’s Shershaah, among many more.

Hardik Mehta, whose latest release was Roohi, starring Rajkummar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Sharma, agrees that single word titles make a big difference. His film itself went through a lot of changes, from RoohAfza, to RoohiAfzana, to finally Roohi. He says, “Titles are formed from their stories. A one word title makes a bigger impact, and always works better. My first film, Kaamyaab, also was that, but the Censor certificate said something else – Har Kisse Ki Hisse Kaamyaab. Those are technical things. Even Parmanu, starring John Abraham, was a single word title but they had to add ‘The Story of Pokhran’, like Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela.”

Jhund, a sports drama has Bachchan again in the leading role, while Anek will see Ayushmann Khurrana reuniting with filmmaker Anubhav Sinha for Anek. Trade expert Atul Mohan says, “A title needs to connect with the audiences at the first go, and one word titles have always been a favourite among filmmakers, like Betaab, Beta, Ghayal, etc. It all depends on the kind of film it is.”