| Bygone
fears? English titles back in Kollywood!! |
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Where have the language chauvinists
gone? Remember that S J Surya had
to change the name of his movie Best
Friend to Aa Aah because the Tamil
language chauvinists had raised hue
and cry? Remember that Jeyam Ravi
starrer Rascal had to be renamed Das
for the same reason? Where have the
language chauvinists gone? They are
making another movie called Idiot
featuring Yogi, grandson of late Thaengai
Srinivasan. It is not just Idiot alone
that is in the pipeline: another half
a dozen movies with English names
are getting ready. |
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Even
the man who is well-known for his native
language fervor, Sathyaraj, is now working
in a film with an English title—Reel
No. 15. Reel, while it refers to the film
spools, also has another meaning in Tamil—a
bundle of lies. What reel does Satyaraj
refer to? Well, only he knows the answer.
Earlier, Satyraj retained the English word
brothers in the title Kovai Brothers. Satyraj
can do things and can get away with things
because he is the Puratchi Tamizhan.
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The original title of Cheran’s Aadum
Koothu was Touring Talkies. But then, he
had to abandon the name because the language
chauvinists raised their flags. However,
encouraged by the present trends, Cheran
has brought the same title to his next film.
This timer he has made up his mind that
he would not change the name no matter who
it is that threatens him.
The name of Bharathiraja’s latest
movie, being made simultaneously in Tamil
and Hindi, is Cinema. Isn’t it an
English word? No one has protested against
this name till date. |
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The industry has become emboldened.
A number of movies with English names
are on the floor—the Prashanth
starrer Runway, Sunday starring Jyothirmayi,
Lemon starring Chaya Singh, Very Good
starring Mumtaj, Tiptop starring Karthik—Mithuna
and North Madras starring several
new faces. And don’t forget
Something Something Unakkum Enakkum,
with Trisha and Jeyam Ravi in the
lead.
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The
scene there on the field is calm.
There are no protests or stunts to
gain political mileage. One really
wonders where the language chauvinists
have gone.
The only man who remained rock solid
all along was Kamal Hassan who refused
to change the name of his Mumbai Express.
He had changed the title once—that
of Chandiyar to Virumaandi but that
was for some other reason. With that
he said enough was enough.
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