ONCE UPON AY TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA!

Earlier called: Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Again! After a while, we stopped counting the name changes that this Milan Luthria film went through. Originally titled Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Again!, the sequel to the 2011 film that was called Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai. “We shifted from Again to Dobaara not because of numerology. It was a marketing call where we felt that it would not connect as much because it was a very long English title. Also, the word ‘Dobaara’ brings in a lot of spunk,” director Milan Luthria had told t2. But nothing could prevent the film from crashing at the box office.

goliyon ki raasleela Ram-Leela

Earlier called: Ram-Leela

Sanjay Leela Bhansali had to change the name of his latest film at the nth hour when a stay order was slapped on the release of Ram-Leela following protests from Hindu groups that objected to the use of ‘Ram’ in its title. Ram-Leela became Goliyon Ki Raasleela, with Deepika Padukone’s oomph and Ranveer Singh’s sexy charm proving enough to make it a winner at the box office.

r... rajkumar

Earlier called: Rambo Rajkumar

The Shahid Kapoor-Sonakshi Sinha romance directed by Prabhu Dheva that hit screens on December 6 started out as Rambo Rajkumar, but had to cut it short when the makers of the Rambo films, the iconic action franchise starring Sylvester Stallone, cried foul over copyright. So out went ‘Rambo’ and in came just ‘R’. Reason? “Shahid’s character has a new name that will be revealed only when the film releases,” producer Viki Rajani had said. We now know he’s called Romeo!

jai ho

Earlier called: Mental

Salman Khan’s Jai Ho, that hits screens on January 24 and stars Tabu and Bigg Boss 6 hottie Sana Khan, was originally called Mental, a title that its director and Salman’s younger brother Sohail was very keen on. However, dad Salim voted for Jai Ho and Mental was dropped.

total SIYAPAA

Earlier called: Aman Ki Asha

The promo of this Ali Zafar-Yaami Gautam rom com with a message has just hit the airwaves. Earlier titled Aman Ki Asha, the story revolves around the romance between Pakistani boy Aman (Ali) and Indian girl Asha (Yaami), the makers opted for the curiously titled Total Siyapaa — meaning ‘total trouble’ — just before the promo release.

madras cafe

Earlier called: Jaffna

Shoojit Sircar’s gutsy take on the Rajiv Gandhi assassination in the time of Lankan civil wars was initially titled Jaffna. Sircar denies that the name change had anything to do with controversy — “Madras Cafe is a very important location in the film and key to the conspiracy plot. Hence the title change. It was not because of any pressure or controversy or anything,” the Vicky Donor man had told t2.

phantom

Earlier called: Daniyal Khan

Ek Tha Tiger man Kabir Khan’s action thriller starring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif was earlier called Daniyal Khan (after Saif’s character). After the first schedule was shot in Beirut, the title was changed to the more hip sounding Phantom. Reason? Unknown.

Yadav to Rao!

With Kai Po Che! and Shahid, he’s had a fabulous 2013. But Rajkumar Yadav has fallen prey to the common malady that afflicts Bollywood — superstition. The young actor has changed his surname from Yadav to Rao and insists that all his films from now on will feature him as Rajkumar Rao! Reason? “My mom feels Rao will be luckier for me,” says Rajkumar.