Dil. Dard.Dishoom!

Would Sholay be a hit if it was called Barfiley? Or Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge be as iconic if it weren't a hummable tune? A good movie title must stick, sparkle and sell in under five words. See how they're keeping up with the times, and are being adapted for screens, states and streaming picks

- Kritika Kapoor

Pore over a list of Bollywood releases long enough, and déjà vu will hit. Two films titled Kesari came out this year. One, subtitled Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh, is a follow-up to the 2019 Akshay Kumar hit of the same name. The other, with Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, and a suffix: Veer.

Even when some titles seem new, old connections emerge. Chhaava, one of the year's hits, means lion cub in Marathi. That's close to the 2024 Singham Again (Singham is lion in Tamil), and Tiger 3. All three titles indicate stories of a hypermasculine hero – an idea that also echoes in this year’s Deva (starring Shahid Kapoor) and Sikandar (starring Salman Khan), and Pathaan, Jawan, and Animal (2023).

Jump genres, and the titles still seem like they all emerged from the same cocoon. The love stories of our time are a mouthful: Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018), Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023) the upcoming Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri. Horror is all one-word explosions: Stree (2018), Bhediya (2022), Munjya (2024) and, absurdly, Naagzilla (out in 2026).

Turns out, movie-naming is just like baby-naming. There are trends, stand-out surprises, arguments, and always someone else who had the same idea as you. Grab some popcorn, the titles are talking.

Winning words

Kesari has been showing up in film titles as early as 1935, in the stunt film Hind Kesari. It’s appeared across languages – there’s a Punjab Kesari (1938, Tamil) and an Andhra Kesari (1983, Telugu). And given that a big chunk of 2025 releases are sequels, expect winning words and phrases to recur in the movie names.

“The film industry is highly speculative,” says trade analyst Komal Nahta. “When something works, everyone tries to follow the same model.” Producer Himanshu Mehra views it as a “smart and intentional move”. Movies deliberately use familiar terms and colloquial phrases because that “travels better across states and audiences”.