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United Hindu Front workers staged a protest against the film at Delhi's Jantar Mantar and demanded a ban on the film if the makers don't make the changes in the title and scenes. While Akshay Kumar and the producers have remained tight-lipped on the controversy, the director Raghava Lawrence has revealed why he decided to change the title for the Hindi remake of his flick 'Kanchana'.
Excerpts from the interview
Why did you choose to change the title for the Hindi remake of your Tamil film ‘Kanchana’?
Our Tamil film was named after the main lead character Kanchana. Kanchana means ‘gold’ which is a form of Lakshmi. Earlier I considered going the same way for the Hindi remake but we collectively decided that the name must appeal to the Hindi audience as well and what better than Laxmmi. By god’s grace, it was turning out to be a cracker of a film, so we named it Laxmmi Bomb. Like a dhamaka of Laxmmi Bomb cannot be missed, the transgender lead character is powerful and radiant. Hence the name fits perfectly.
2. The trailer looks fun with an ensemble cast. Tell us about your thoughts on the story and the different characters in the film.
“The story was created to give the audience a mix of horror and comedy experience and also for the first time I tried to involve an important social message about transgenders into the horror- comedy genre. The characters are created in such a way that the audience can enjoy different variation of characters on the screen.”
3. What made you choose a story that emphasises on the transgender community?
I run a trust and few transgender’s approached my trust for help. When I heard their story, I felt like I wanted to tell their story to everyone, first through the character of Kanchana and now with Laxmmi in this movie. After watching the film audiences will know what I am talking about.
4. This is the first time that a mainstream Bollywood actor is playing a transgender character, what are your thoughts on this?
“After Kanchana released in Tamil, the movie received huge appreciation from transgenders . They directly came to my home and blessed me. So In Hindi when Akshay sir is playing the role, I believe that the message will reach an even wider audience. My special thanks to Akshay sir for accepting and playing this role.”
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'Laxmmi Bomb' will premiere directly on November 9 on Disney+ Hotstar.