Soon it will be first-come-first-serve on registration of film titles
The ordeal of fighting over a title may soon be a thing of the past with the possibility of film title registration being phased out
New Delhi: M.A. Pass, a sequel to the critically acclaimed 2013 neo noir film B.A. Pass, directed by Ajay Bahl was announced nearly three years ago but is yet to see the light of day. Co-producer Narendra Singh, who owns the trademark and copyright of the title, has not been able to get his movie through the censor board since another producer by the name of J. Neelam, previously a part of the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association (IMPAA), has a film registered under the same name.
Neelam and Singh are not the only and definitely not the first movie producers to have gone through the ordeal of fighting over a title. In 2014, actor and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt had clashed with producer Vipul Shah over the title of his A.R. Murugadoss film Holiday, starring Akshay Kumar in the lead. Bhatt had directed a film by the same name in 2006, featuring Dino Morea. In 2010, she claimed that director Anees Bazmee had used Thank You, a title she had registered for the remake of father Mahesh Bhatt’s 1982 film Arth. The title of Aamir Khan’s December release Dangal actually belonged to actor-director Punit Issar.
Clashes like these may soon be a thing of the past with the possibility of film title registration being phased out.
“The censor board and government are trying to work out a mechanism where the first applicant for a particular title gets its possession. The time period for the same is still being worked out," said Girish Johar, head of global revenue (film division) at Essel Vision Productions Ltd. He added that the process has been initiated and is in advanced stages.
Title registration is currently under the purview of multiple film bodies like The Film & Television Producers Guild of India Ltd, Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association, Indian Film and Television Producers Council and Western India Film Producers’ Association. Since 1990, there has been an understanding between the censor board and the four bodies to register titles on behalf of individual member producers. Disputes on such grounds too have to be resolved by the bodies themselves; the censor board cannot withhold certificates or get involved in the same.
Under the new mechanism, instead of the four bodies coordinating among themselves to avoid disputes, they are looking to gain Central government recognition. So whoever comes to the CBFC with a title first, will get it.
Atul Mohan, editor of trade magazine Complete Cinema, said the first ones to be impacted by the new provision, if passed, would be the members of the associations themselves. “Office bearers often hoard film titles for their own productions, regardless of whether and when they materialize, under dummy names," he said. “This will spell doomsday for all associations since titles have always been seen as their territory." Mohan added that the give-and-take of titles has been a thriving business in the film industry, with transactions going up to ₹ 25 lakh, if producers are desperate for a specific title. However, there are still several loopholes.
For instance, what happens if Aditya Chopra is planning to bring Befikre, a huge film, to theatres six months from now and a small filmmaker comes out with a similar title next month, asked Johar. “But I believe the intentions are right here. Fighting for a title after you’ve invested much effort on script, cast and budget only adds to a filmmaker’s woes," he added.
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