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Ever wondered why ‘Sonu ke titu ki sweety’, despite being pronounced so hard, was named so? It seemed like a real tongue twister to speak the name of the movie, many misreading it as ‘tweety’. ‘Hey, wanna go for Sonu ki tweety…….whatever it is?’. Yeah, this happened with most of the people going to watch the movie. But do you expect it to be a flop? No, it wasn’t really, instead came out with flying colors at the box office, being entered the 100-crore club.
Well, the idea behind such quirky titles is that audience feel a desi vibe with such titles and experts say it helps to establish a connection with the ‘desi’ audience. With common names like Sonu, Bunty, Monu, Bittu, audience feels homely and can easily relate to the story of the movie. And there are many more movies which have weird titles and interestingly they are a mix of comedy, sci-fi, romantic, multi-starrers, experimental themed films.
To name a few such movies, ‘Batti Gul Meter Chalu’, ‘Veere Di Wedding’, ‘Dil Juunglee’, ‘Nanu Ki Jaanu’, ‘Shaadi Teri Bajaayenge Band Hum’, ‘Chanda Mama Door Ke’, ‘Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar’, ‘Sui Dhaaga – Made In India’, ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga’ and ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’, among which some of them have hit the box office while some are yet to be released.
Actor-Writer Manu Rishi Chadha, who has penned Abhay Deol-starrer ‘Nanu Ki Jaanu’ says, “Words and names like Titu, Bittu, Tinku, Monu, Sonu, Bunty, Lucky, Nanu and Jaanu sound like your own house’s kids and the audience feels like it is their own story. So, it’s all an effort to reach the common family’s heart, to get their love and adulation, which leads to the good box office. As much as 80 percent of people in India find a character like themselves in films, so if a title gives them that, their heart and our box office gets set.”
Sonu ke titu ki sweety director Luv Ranjan says, “I have always had a thing for quirky titles like ‘Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety’, like my own ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama’. They take time to get registered in the minds of the audience, but when they do, they become memorable.”
Manish Paul starrer, ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ Director Vishwas Paandya said the film’s title (based on the famous nursery rhyme), has a significance. “Manish Paul plays the central character and his name in the movie is Baba. Also, when I was writing the film, I thought all the characters in the movie were black in some way or the other, that’s why Baa Baaa Black Sheep. The afterthought was that it’s the second most searched nursery rhyme on the internet, so the recall value was great,” he said.
Using quirky titles is not a new thing in Bollywood. Film historian S.M.M. Ausaja cited how movie makers have used this formula to attract attention since years. “Take a film like the 1955 film ‘Garam Coat’ or the 1956 movie ‘Chhoo Mantar’. Then there was ‘Chameli Ki Shaadi’ or more recent ones like ‘Utt Pataang’, ‘Bhagam Bhag’. Films of Johnny Walker and Bhagwan Dada had desi titles. Most of such quirky names are comedies which require amusing titles, said Ausaja.
Last year also, Bollywood came up with many movies which had quirky titles like, ‘Haraamkhor’, ‘Laali Ki Shaadi Mein Laaddoo Deewana’, ‘Begum Jaan’, ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’, ‘Behen Hogi Teri’, ‘Bank Chor’, ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’, ‘Shubh Mangal Savdhan’ and ‘Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana’.
According to film and trade business analyst Girish Johar, “The audience wants to watch realistic stories, and draw entertainment in a realistic way. So, the stories and also the titles are selected in that particular manner.”
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