Short-Kut, Sankat City, Kaminey - Bollywood gets bold with the name game

Indian cinema is well-known for its experimental nature. And if we look back at the recent innovations, crazy titles certainly need a mention.

No matter whether the film clicked or bombed, these titles certainly paved way for the audience to at least come and discover what the film had to say. This weekend, we have two such films slated for release, titled Sankat City and Short-Kut-The con is on.

And, now Sankat City and Short-Kut-The con is on gives us an opportunity to walk down the memory lane of the craziest ever titles and check if the content of the film matched up to the titles.

Bheja Fry: An ice breaker; had everything in place, the entertainment value, fantastic performances and an excellent storyline. A low budget, bone tickling comedy became an epitome of success, after tremendous word-of-mouth publicity resulted in its super success. Vinay Pathak, as an income-tax officer moonlighting as an aspiring singer was at his eating best, we meant best at eating the ‘Brains’ of Rajat Kapoor. He earned full marks for this never-seen-before role and his performance as well. He makes Rajat realize his folly of ridding his boredom at the cost of innocent seekers of music, which Sarika the latter’s wife could not do in two years.

Khosla Ka Ghosla: Another low-budget flick Khosla Ka Ghosla placed yet another Bong Dibakar Banerjee into the league of filmmakers like Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee; whose films exhibited nothing, but simplicity. Spell bounding and honest performances by Anupam Kher and Boman Irani were the USP of the film. An intelligent fight over the land piece between them, with all the support from well-wishers (Parvin Dabbas, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey and Kiran Juneja) on Kher’s side was one of the most effortless narrated stories. With a tinge of North Indian culture in it, Khosla Ka Ghosla managed to garner loads of success at the box-office.

Manorama Six Feet under: They say the proof of pudding lies in eating. Manorama Six Feet Under undoubtedly was a slip-up at the ticket window; despite the very innovative title. The question is why? Although, the title of the film gelled beautifully with the story; which goes like this- (Abhay Deol) an engineer whose dream of becoming a renowned detective fiction writer with a novel called Manorama, does not see light of the dawn. And, like the writer, Manorama too could not woo the heart of its audience. The flak goes to the juvenile handling of script. ‘Woh Bheege Pal’, a combination of Pakistani pop and rock was the only saving grace, with a couple of good performances by Abhay Deol and Gul Panag.

Loins of Punjab Presents: Now that is a perfect example of a flick which doesn’t boast about a big banner; or exorbitant budget; or a big star cast. However, this simple yet interesting storyline; with terrific direction and performances resonated with the audience. Loins of Punjab Presents went down as one of the best works of Indian cinema. And yes, Loins of Punjab is considered to be; not just an innovative, but as one of the most talked about titles; especially because of the word ‘Presents’. The title pulled the audience to theatres and the marvellously carved product made many a hearts go flutter.

So, back to Sankat City and Short-Kut-The con is on, which promise to entertain the viewers; if not with the plot then, at least with their whacky titles.

But the mother of all the wacky titles is up for release on August 14.This Shahid and Priyanka starrer has generated a lot of buzz and a few giggles too. Kaminey rules the roost as the most insane title; but well, it seems the title has already worked wonders for them; let’s see their fate post-release.

--SAMPURN