As with other businesses, the entertainment industry has suffered setbacks owing to the global coronavirus outbreak. However, even as the number of cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in India, a few opportunistic Bollywood filmmakers wasted no time in registering coronavirus-related titles.
One of the first titles to be registered was Corona Pyaar Hai, a reference the 2000 film Kaho Naa..Pyaar Hai starring Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha Patel. Production house Eros International reportedly approached the Indian Film and Television Producers Council last week to book it.
However, the film's director Rakesh Roshan is less than amused at the news calling it a “mockery” at a time when the world is battling a major health crisis. “It's childish and immature to do such a thing at this time. We should ignore these people as they are not thinking straight,” he told mid-day in response to the news. Though the title may be in poor taste, Roshan says he has no plans to take any legal action. He says his hands are tied since "there is no similarity between the two films,” and “Corona Pyaar Hai has a different meaning to it.”
This is not the first time film production houses have rushed to register titles related to major events. Following the Pulawama terror attack and Balakot air strike in February last year, 34 film titles, including Abhinandan, The Air Strike of Pulwama and The Josh Is High, were applied for. In August, producers registered film titles related to the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir Hamara Hai and Dhara 370 were among the names sought after.
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