The makers of Akshay Kumar‘s upcoming film Laxmmi Bomb released a new poster confirming the film’s title change to Laxmii.
The change comes after the makers faced objections from several Hindu groups.
Woh sahi kehte hai – Live life, Queen size! Aa rahi hai #Laxmii 9th November ko!🙌🏻#FoxStarStudios #DisneyPlusHotstarMultiplex #YehDiwaliLaxmiiWali@akshaykumar @advani_kiara @offl_Lawrence @Shabinaa_Ent @foxstarhindi @DisneyplusHSVIP #CapeOfGoodFilms #ShabinaaEntertainment pic.twitter.com/5A3ncF5swy
— Tusshar (@TusshKapoor) October 31, 2020
Helmed by director Raghava Lawrence, the film faced flak over its title that associated the word ‘bomb’ with a Hindu god name. Reportedly, on Thursday, when the film applied for the censor certificate, the filmmakers and the Central Board of Film Certification had a discussion regarding the title after the screening. The producers of the film- Shabinaa Khan, Tusshar Kapoor, and Kumar- reportedly decided to change the title in order to not hurt the audience’s sentiment.
Kiara Advani will feature opposite Kumar in the film. Presented by Fox Star Studios, Cape of Good Films, and Shabinaa Entertainment, the film is bankrolled by Tusshar Entertainment House and will see a release on Disney+ Hotstar VIP on November 9.
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Laxmii is the Hindi remake of the Tamil horror Muni 2: Kanchana, also helmed by Lawrence. The Tamil version starred Lawrence, Sarathkumar, Raai Laxmi, Kovai Sarala, Devadarshini, and Sriman. The story centres around Raghav, who gets possessed by the evil spirit of a trans woman, who seeks revenge for being killed over a land-grabbing issue.
Earlier, Hindu organisation Rajput Karni Sena demanded the filmmakers change the title as they felt it had been deliberately chosen to “lower the dignity” and that the “show disrespect to the god”. Several other right-wing Hindu groups, including Hindu Sena, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, and Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, wanted to boycott the film on the grounds of “love jihad”.
In 2017, Hindu right-wing groups wanted to boycott Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat over allegations of tarnishing the image of Rani Padmini and distorting history.