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In plain language: Few small players shaping streaming biz beyond Hindi
The hope is to expand it to 18 languages or dialects, including Maithili, Bundeli, Awadhi and Marathi, over the next five years
Vanita Kohli Khandekar Pune
Listen to This Article
Kaand 2010 is based on the caste violence that rocked Mirchpur, Haryana, that year. To watch this Haryanvi series, streaming on Stage, you have to first pay ₹399 for a three-month subscription, and answer this multiple choice question: 'What is your culture?' The options are Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, and Rajasthani – the three languages in which Stage claims to offer about 600 hours of programming currently.
The hope is to expand it to 18 languages or dialects, including Maithili, Bundeli, Awadhi and Marathi, over the next five years, says the OTT platform's cofounder and Chief Executive Officer Vinay Singhal.
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Hindustan Times
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Horror is all one-word explosions: Stree (2018), Bhediya (2022), Munjya (2024) and, absurdly, Naagzilla (out in 2026). Turns out, movie-naming is just like baby-naming. There are trends, stand-out surprises, arguments, and always someone else who had the same idea as you. Grab some popcorn, the titles are talking. Winning words Kesari has been showing up in film titles as early as 1935, in the stunt film Hind Kesari. It's appeared across languages – there's a Punjab Kesari (1938, Tamil) and an Andhra Kesari (1983, Telugu). And given that a big chunk of 2025 releases are sequels, expect winning words and phrases to recur in the movie names. 'The film industry is highly speculative,' says trade analyst Komal Nahta. 'When something works, everyone tries to follow the same model.' Producer Himanshu Mehra views it as a 'smart and intentional move'. Movies deliberately use familiar terms and colloquial phrases because that 'travels better across states and audiences'. It's an old trick. 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Actor Rajkummar Rao suggested shortening it to sound less like the genre staples that rely on terms such as bhoot and darr. Simpler movie names are undoubtedly more evocative and powerful. But, like a good Insta handle or Tinder after 11pm, all the good ones are taken. Registering a title with the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA), one of the handful of committees that allow for it in India, costs as little as ₹350, plus GST. So, producers tend to stockpile potential terms for future use. Titles that include 'Section' or 'Article' (referring to parts of the Constitution) are booked up, as are newsy keywords such as Surgical Strike. When Operation Sindoor made the headlines, industry bodies got 30 title applications in two days. 'It's a hustle,' says Nahta. 'Ninety-five percent of the producers won't even make the film. They're just hoping to resell it to a big-banner studio.' There are bound to be scalpers– it's all about the money. 'Some people demand ₹15 to ₹30 lakhs, even ₹1 crore, just for a title,' says one producer who did not wish to be named. The phrase Tujhe Dekha Toh Ye Jana Sanam is booked, as are common one-word masculine terms, and after the success of Stree, most popular terms related to female empowerment. This is an unfair business practice. 'You have to surrender a title if you're not using it,' says Anil Nagrath, secretary of the IMPPA. 'We allow a three-year hold, but you need to show production progress. If not, it's reassigned.' Trying to slip past with a spelling tweak or adding a number? The committee now checks everything: Spelling, font size, visual layout. 'You can't just shrink part of the name and sneak it through.' Understandably, there's quite a bit of infighting over this. In 2020, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar called out Karan Johar for taking Bhandarkar's already-booked title, Bollywood Wives, for the reality show The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. In other cases, there's no choice but to move on. Mehra's film Khaali Peeli (2020) was originally titled Kali Peeli, a nod to Mumbai's black-and-yellow taxis. But that title was taken too. 'So, we just twisted it into Khaali Peeli, a Bambaiya slang term that means 'just like that',' says the producer. 'It's still true to the story, and added that local flavour.' Closing credits So, is there such a thing as an ideal title? Filmmakers agree that there is. For Mehra, it's a name that strikes an emotional chord, the way Bajrangi Bhaijaan did. 'It's powerful. You have an Indian superstar, known as 'Bhaijaan', playing someone who is rooted in Hindu beliefs. It wasn't a gimmick. It felt honest.' Nahta looks for three important ingredients: 'It should be easy on the tongue. It should appeal to your senses, intellectually and emotionally. And ideally, it should convey what the film is about.' That said, a bad title can deliver an unexpected hit too. 'Consider Pratighaat (1987, a story of a woman taking on criminals and corruption). It wasn't a commonly used term for revenge, but Sujata Mehta's film was a hit.' Lost in translation Bajrangi Bhaijaan: Little Lolita's Monkey God Uncle (China) Dangal: Let's Wrestle, Dad (China) Deewaar: I'll Die For Mama! (US) Toilet: Ek Prem Katha: Toilet Hero (China), No Toilet No Bride (Germany) Seeta Aur Geeta: Seeta and Geeta: The Earthquake Sisters (Peru) The outlier Spell bound Sometimes, naming a film is less art, more astrology. In 2000, the late numerologist Bansilal M Jumaani added two extra As to Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai. The movie became a massive hit, made Hrithik Roshan a superstar, and boosted tourism in New Zealand. Filmmakers believed Jumaani and his son Sanjay and daughter Swetta were on to something. Over the years they've tweaked the titles of Simmba and Singh Is Bliing, and added the Hindi tagline to Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. 'Every letter has a different vibration, and its own number,' claims Swetta Jumaani. 'Based on what number the name adds up to, we ask the filmmakers to add or delete some letters, and what colour combinations to use. Even how to orient the title, as with Chennai Express, which is tilted upwards. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is number 6, which is a good number for romance; 9 is great for action, like in Tanhaji.' They've got it wrong plenty of times too. From HT Brunch, June 21, 2025 Follow us on
Business Standard
7 hours ago
- Business Standard
In plain language: Few small players shaping streaming biz beyond Hindi
The hope is to expand it to 18 languages or dialects, including Maithili, Bundeli, Awadhi and Marathi, over the next five years Vanita Kohli Khandekar Pune Listen to This Article Kaand 2010 is based on the caste violence that rocked Mirchpur, Haryana, that year. To watch this Haryanvi series, streaming on Stage, you have to first pay ₹399 for a three-month subscription, and answer this multiple choice question: 'What is your culture?' The options are Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, and Rajasthani – the three languages in which Stage claims to offer about 600 hours of programming currently. The hope is to expand it to 18 languages or dialects, including Maithili, Bundeli, Awadhi and Marathi, over the next five years, says the OTT platform's cofounder and Chief Executive Officer Vinay Singhal.
