<p>The 1980s in Bollywood is filled with works that can be considered classics: From the likes of Aakrosh, starring Naseeruddin Shah, to the dramatic The Burning Train, starring the late Vinod Khanna, there were films of all kinds, each dealing with a different concept, with some popcorn films and some films a reflection of the times and of the culture prevalent in the era. One such film was 'Nikaah', by B.R. Chopra.<br /><br />Although even to those people who grew up on a diet of movies of old, the film may have flown under the radar, in the days of its release and those preceding it, the film drew quite a bit of attention to itself. The reason for it was its original title: 'Talaq, Talaq, Talaq'.<br /><br />Set in the city of Hyderabad, the film dealt with the stigma of the triple talaq issue which has now found itself returning to the mainstream following a series of petitions and the subsequent ban from the Supreme Court, followed the life of Niolfar, played by Salma Agha, who is unknowingly the object of affection of Haider, played by Raj Babbar, who doesn't know she is engaged to Wasim, played by Deepak Parashar, who turns out to be a workaholic with little patience, and after endless tension between the couple, which culminates in a wedding anniversary party gone horribly bad, resulting in Wasim issuing divorce to Nilofar by saying 'talaq, talaq, talaq'.<br /><br />The film's title's change had an interesting angle, in that B.R. Chopra's Muslim friend was the reason. Bengali Daily 'Ei Samay' ran a small article, which says that the Muslim friend said that "Chopra Saab, there's a problem. I won't be able to go home and ask my wife to go watch the film. Because when she asks what film I'm asking her to watch and if I tell her the name of the film (which was Talaq Talaq Talaq), she'll get a heart attack,". Seeing the issue the title could very well cause, Chopra changed the title to Nikaah, which was also one of the core angles of the film.<br /><br />The film hit some very sensitive topics for Muslim people at the time, with over 34 cases filed against it, a record for any film of the period. The director even went out of his way to give an advisory to the people about the intent of the film and had to resort to a special screening with a properly placed explanation of the film's content to get the orthodox Muslims to rescind their protest. <br /></p>
<p>The 1980s in Bollywood is filled with works that can be considered classics: From the likes of Aakrosh, starring Naseeruddin Shah, to the dramatic The Burning Train, starring the late Vinod Khanna, there were films of all kinds, each dealing with a different concept, with some popcorn films and some films a reflection of the times and of the culture prevalent in the era. One such film was 'Nikaah', by B.R. Chopra.<br /><br />Although even to those people who grew up on a diet of movies of old, the film may have flown under the radar, in the days of its release and those preceding it, the film drew quite a bit of attention to itself. The reason for it was its original title: 'Talaq, Talaq, Talaq'.<br /><br />Set in the city of Hyderabad, the film dealt with the stigma of the triple talaq issue which has now found itself returning to the mainstream following a series of petitions and the subsequent ban from the Supreme Court, followed the life of Niolfar, played by Salma Agha, who is unknowingly the object of affection of Haider, played by Raj Babbar, who doesn't know she is engaged to Wasim, played by Deepak Parashar, who turns out to be a workaholic with little patience, and after endless tension between the couple, which culminates in a wedding anniversary party gone horribly bad, resulting in Wasim issuing divorce to Nilofar by saying 'talaq, talaq, talaq'.<br /><br />The film's title's change had an interesting angle, in that B.R. Chopra's Muslim friend was the reason. Bengali Daily 'Ei Samay' ran a small article, which says that the Muslim friend said that "Chopra Saab, there's a problem. I won't be able to go home and ask my wife to go watch the film. Because when she asks what film I'm asking her to watch and if I tell her the name of the film (which was Talaq Talaq Talaq), she'll get a heart attack,". Seeing the issue the title could very well cause, Chopra changed the title to Nikaah, which was also one of the core angles of the film.<br /><br />The film hit some very sensitive topics for Muslim people at the time, with over 34 cases filed against it, a record for any film of the period. The director even went out of his way to give an advisory to the people about the intent of the film and had to resort to a special screening with a properly placed explanation of the film's content to get the orthodox Muslims to rescind their protest. <br /></p>
