What if 'Ohm Shanthi Oshana' was called 'Ola Kudayum Kungfu Pandayum'? Jude Anthany responds

Film titles are paramount for a movie's success. At least, 2018 director Jude Anthany Joseph thinks so. Speaking to Onmanorama, Jude opens up about the importance of choosing good film titles and how he and his team had originally contemplated titling his debut film 'Ohm Shaanti Oshaana' as 'Ola Kudayum Kungfu Pandayum'.

“Film titles play a very important role in whether people would want to watch movies. The titles need to catch the essence of the film. Midhun, who was the scriptwriter for 'Ohm Shanthi Oshaana', had suggested ‘Ola Kudayum Kungfu Pandayum’ since the Ola Kuda (umbrella made of pam leaf) and the fact that Nivin's character Giri goes to China (the panda connection) are important elements in the film. But we decided against it since we were not sure it would work,” says the director.

According to him, he decided to name the film 'Om Shanti Oshaana' since the film revolved around a couple – Pooja and Giri – who are from two different faiths. “Chanting Ohm is a sacred practice in Hinduism, while Oshaana is Biblical. Since the couple is from different faiths, I decided to use both these words to denote the story would revolve around a couple from a different faith,” he said adding that he finalised the title after consulting with a lot of friends from the film industry.

At the same time, he says he regretted using 'Oru Muthassi Gadha' for a movie about an elderly woman. “Gadha means arrogance. In my film, the lead character, though initially very moody, mellows down and does good deeds. Many people commented about my choice of the title saying it did not capture the essence of the film,” he said. Jude Anthany Joseph's blockbuster film '2018' has now been released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu too.