When Bollywood stars reacted against misuse of their names

With Rajinikanthrsquos film Kochadiyaan releasing round the corner a film titled Main Hoon Rajinikanth has just been announced by filmmaker Faisal Saif He is not the only one mdash nor the first one mdash to be cashing on or using an actorrsquos name in a film There have been instances in the past too Faisal defends himself saying that his film will only be a tribute to the legendary actorSalman Khan is not particularly happy about a film titled Munna Bhai Sallu Bhai PicSameer MarkandeldquoIt is about Rajnikanth and you will get to see those things which you have only read it as SMS jokes The comedy is on the lines of The Dictator and Boratrdquo he saysA goat in the film Yeh Hai Bakrapur is named after Shah Rukh KhanWhen asked if he sought permission from the superstar he says ldquoWe are not making a film on Mahatma Gandhi or any historic figure My film is also not a biopic It is a tribute and for that we only need his blessings We want our film to be a pleasant surprise for himrsquorsquoA goat in the film Yeh Hai Bakrapur is named after Shah Rukh KhanTrade analyst Komal Nahata rubbishes the claims that it is just a tribute ldquoThe filmmakers are obviously cashing on the actors or at times even charactersrsquo popularity The idea is to get instant recognition and attention We easily remember movies titled Basanti ki Shaadi Honeymoon Gabbar Ka because of the popularity of those iconic characters It is a ploy to get publicityrdquo he saysRajinikanthFilmmaker Janki Vishwanathanrsquos film Yeh Hai Bakrapur which is slated to release in May too has a lsquoShahrukhrsquo in it The filmmaker has been seeking audience with the Shah Rukh Khan because a goat in her film is named after him She justified it by saying ldquoSince the goat is the protagonist of the film we went hunting for the right goat We lsquoauditionedrsquo at least 400 goats before we found the right oneMain Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon 2003 follows a poor uneducated woman who is a huge fan of famous Bollywood actress and attempts to join the Bollywood film industryCall it a divine coincidence but the goat that was approved was called Shah Rukh I was told the goat responds to that name since he was one year old I thought best not to change the namersquorsquo She adds if you go to the goat market in Bidar which falls on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra most goats there are either called Shah Rukh or Salman ldquoI wanted that trend to be reflected in my film Not so long back there was this goat called Saifeena which was sold for Rs 4 lakhThe poster of Main Hoon Rajnikanth directed by Faisal SaifI wonrsquot be surprised if there is a goat named Sachin in the market too The reason is to show how things in rural India worksrdquo she says She is keen on showing the film to SRK because she wants the actor to know that ldquothere is no malice intendedrdquo and that she utmost respect for himWe donrsquot know how Shah Rukh is taking this piece of news but Salman Khan was evidently not too happy when a filmmaker Muazzam Beg launched his film Munna Bhai Sallu Bhai on Salman Khanrsquos birthday on December 27 last year Salman Khanrsquos office is said to have promptly sent mails to Beg warning him against misusing the starrsquos name Beg had to shelve the film He says ldquoOur story was about two fans of these actors We had shot 30 per cent of the film but decided to shelve it after the warnings camerdquo he says In hindsight he says he should have sought Sallubhairsquos permission before even starting the filmSome time back Madhuri Dixit who was then living in the USA got anxious when Ram Gopal Verma announced a project called Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon without speaking to her about it Her then business manager Rikku Rakeshnath explains ldquoWe took an objection to the title and only after we understood what the script is and gave him a No Objection Certificate did he begin shootingrdquo Whatever the intention of the filmmaker do these dramatic naming result in more business No says Nahata ldquoIt just becomes a point of discussion for a while and then some front benchers get taken in but thatrsquos about itrdquo