Priyadarshan found his title

Although his De Dana Dan is a hit, Priyadarshan is on the lookout for a serious image for his films. With titles to match. For his next film which is about caste wars and forbidden inter-caste marriages in Bihar, Priyadarshan wanted a title that would convey the flavour and feel of the Bihari milieu.

Priyan wanted to call the film Ganga Jal. Not knowing that the title had already been taken for another Bihari fable. Says Priyan, “I thought something like Ganga Jal was the best title for his film because it allowed audiences to know exactly where the plot and characters were going.”

In his mind he had settled for the title as the best one for his film, until he shared it with his leading man Ajay Devgn. To his horror Priyan was told by Ajay that Prakash Jha had already used the title. Ajay knew about Jha’s Ganga Jal because he had played the lead in it. Bipasha Basu, who was also part of Ganga Jal, also laughed when she heard of Priyan’s title.

Then began the search for another title. Now Priyan’s Bihari drama is called Nishaad. Priyadarshan’s Ajay Devgn, Bipasha Basu, Akshaye Khanna starrer about caste wars and taboo marriages in Bihar had been shot without a title mainly because Priyan wanted the film to have a hard-hitting title.

Priyan’s script and dialogue writer came up with Nishaad because the director barely knows any Hindi.