Pulwama to Surgical Strikes 2.0, Bollywood producers rush to register movie titles
On February 26, while the entire nation remained glued to television screens to watch the latest update on India's air strike on Pakistan's Balakot, producers thronged Indian Motion Pictures’ Producers’ Association (IMMPA) in Andheri in Western Mumbai to reserve titles for the jingoistic movies they can probably make in future. Mostly, those registering the titles plan to sell it off to major production houses or studios who are willing to make the film on the topic. As per a report in Huffington Post, an IMMPA representative confirmed on February 27 that there has been a surge in titles related to Pulwama attacks and Balakot strikes. Some of them have been applied for by T-Series and Abudantia.
According to a data provided by trade magazine Complete Cinema, titles which have been registered include Pulwama, Pulwama: The Surgical Strike, War Room, Hindustan Hamara Hai, Pulwama Terror Attack, The Attacks of Pulwama, With Love, From India, and ATS - One Man Show. One can't deny the fact that massive success of Uri: The Surgical Strike has prompted titles focussed on Indo-Pak clash. Bollywood's move to capitalise on this national tragedy is shocking.
For unversed, anyone willing to register a title needs to fill a form of Rs 250 and 18 per cent GST along with 4-5 alternative titles in order of preference. The conflict between Anurag Kashyap and Pritish Nandy was the result of the same tactic. While Kashyap owns the intellectual property rights for the term ''womaniya'', Nandy registered the title beforehand. When Kashyap planned to make a film with the title 'womaniya', Nandy allegedly demanded Rs 2 crore. The Gangs of Wasseypur director termed the demand as ''extortion'' and settled with the title, Saand Ki Aankh.
On Thursday morning, when news of IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in Pakistan custody hit the headlines, the IMPPA informed that titles such as Abhinandan and Wing Commander Abhinandan ''will be gone soon''.
