The makers of the Pratik Gandhi-starrer Bhavai had changed the name of the film to Raavan Leela last year. They have now gone back to the original name after online protests and threats to boycott the film by some people. A legal notice was also issued to the producers accusing them of hurting ‘religious sentiments’ with the title.
Sent by a resident of Ambernath, a town about 75km from Mumbai, the legal notice accuses the film of “spreading misconceptions about Lord Ram and making a derogatory, defamatory, objectionable portrayal in favour of Ravana” through the trailer for the film and its title.
The makers attempted to play the issue down in their statement. Explaining why they revised the title a second time, the statement said, 'The move comes after receiving audience requests and to respect their sentiments.'
Writer-producer-director Hardik Gajjar said in a statement, “I am happy to honour the wishes of my stakeholders and [the] audience. The love we have received for the film thus far is resonance of the fact that good cinema is the need of the hour.
"Cinema is a medium meant to entertain people and so is our film. Audiences have showered Pratik with love for his work and we hope this film will only see it multiply. It’s a film that is close to our hearts and we are confident that audiences will love it with all their hearts too.”
Bhavai is Pratik Gandhi’s first leading role in a Hindi film. The movie also stars Aindrita Ray, Rajendra Gupta, Rajesh Sharma and Abhimanyu Singh.
Produced by Pen Movies and Hardik Gajjar Films in association with Backbencher Pictures, Bhavai will be released in theatres on 1 October.