New Title ‘Loveyatri’ Is Unacceptable Says Hindu Outfit

The new film title still sounds similar to Navratri, says the outfit.

A day after Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s upcoming film’s title was changed from Loveratri to Loveyatri, a Hindu outfit told the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday that the new title was unacceptable to it. The city-based Sanatan Foundation had last week moved a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking change of the title and some content of the film, or its ban for “hurting sentiments of Hindus”.

The outfit told the court Wednesday that the new film title was not acceptable as it still sounds similar to Hindu festival Navratri. The petitioner’s lawyer B B Agrawal submitted in the court that the film’s tagline - a journey of love - as shown in its posters and promotions could be converted into Love Ki Yatra.

Salman Khan, the film’s producer, had on Tuesday announced on the micro-blogging site Twitter that the movie’s title had been changed to Loveratri, from Loveyatri.

During a hearing on the admission of the PIL on Wednesday, the respondent producer’s lawyer told the court that the litigation was “immature” as the movie was yet to get a certification from the censor board. A division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi directed the lawyer representing the film’s producer to seek instructions regarding the content of the movie, and asked how its promos were released without certification from the censor board.

Justice Reddy also said that if needed the bench will watch the film. The movie marks the debut of Salman Khan’s brother-in-law Aayush Sharma and actor Warina Hussain and is set against the backdrop of Navratri. Directed by debutant Abhiraj Minawala, the film is slated for release on 5 October.

The PIL had urged the court to ask the film’s producers to change its title and remove the content that hurts Hindu sentiment as an alternative to a ban. The petitioner claimed that the film will offend Hindus upon its release. It claimed that the film’s (original) title Loveratri as well as some dialogues shown in the trailers were offensive. The PIL contended that while Navratri is a pious festival, the name of the film conveys that it is all about getting “intimate”.