Actor and producer Vijay Antony recently landed in controversy over the Telugu title of his upcoming film. The makers initially went ahead with the original Tamil name without checking how it might sound in Telugu and other languages. Unfortunately, it carried an offensive meaning, sparking backlash after the poster was released.
Realizing the blunder, the team quickly changed the title to Bookie and unveiled a new poster. While they tried to clean up the issue by deleting old posts on social media, screenshots and copies continue to circulate online, reminding people of the slip-up.
This incident highlights a larger problem with dubbing producers and distributors. Instead of adapting titles to suit local sensibilities, many simply retain the original Tamil or Malayalam names in the name of ‘pan-India branding.’ Audiences are left with titles that are hard to pronounce, confusing, or even meaningless in Telugu.
In earlier days, producers took special care to pick titles that connected with the local audience. Classics like Premalekha, Oke Okkadu, and Iddaru were thoughtful adaptations of Tamil originals. Today, however, the trend has shifted, with films like Thangalaan and Empuran keeping their native titles intact, no matter how alien they sound to Telugu viewers.
The Vijay Antony episode serves as a reminder that a film’s title is its first impression. Ignoring cultural and linguistic sensitivities not only creates avoidable controversies but also distances the very audience the makers are trying to attract.
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