Hansal Mehta’s New Film Drops Title

Hansal Mehta’s  next project with Rajkummar Rao was entitled Turram Khan which is how an unlikely hero is designated by people in Hyderabad, somewhat like Tees Maar Khan.

 But if  Farah Khan were  to make Tees Maar Khan  today she would probably have  to  re-christian it  as per   the  prevalent mood in  the nation.

 Hansal Mehta’s Turram Khan which brings him together  with  Rajkummar Rao for  the fifth  feature film   after Shahid, Citylights, Aligarh and Omerta, is now  entitled Chhalaang.Even more significantly  the release  date of Turram Khan/Chhalaang has now been shifted from January  31  to March 13.

While both  Hansal Mehta and producer Luv Ranjan are tightlipped  about their reason for  the film’s  altered  title,  sources say  the title  was  altered  in  keeping with the current  climate in  the country.

There was a time Yusuf Khan and  Abbas Khan had to change their names  to  Dilip Kumar and Sanjay  to  merge  into  the mainstream before claiming stardom.This  cultural-religious camouflaging ended  with the  arrival of the Khan superstars Shah Rukh, Salman  and Aamir.

Are we looking at a revival  of  the era when  Muslim entertainers had to change their names before they were eligible for stardom in  Bollywood.The process began some years ago when Irrfan Khan dropped the ‘Khan’ from his name to protect himself from excessive scrutiny at airports.