KISS rule!

From the time when movie buffs nicknamed films with long titles (HAHK, DDLJ, RHTDM) to the time producers themselves started promoting their film using abbreviated versions (K3G, KANK, MP3, etc... ) names have come a long way.

However, all this may soon be a thing of past and there is much reason to rejoice for the junta.

An increasing number of filmmakers in Bollywood are now waking up to the idea of the KISS rule. And we do not mean the kisses that have made the likes of Mallika Sherawat famous.

KISS is: Keep It Short and Sweet. And for movie buffs and non-filmi types who found memorising the names of Bollywood films or their abbreviated versions more challenging than remembering chemistry equations - it's certainly a welcome relief!

So, there are names right from Apne to Naqaab to Awarapan . Then there's also Dhol, Tashan, Kaafila, Lajjo and Agar .

What's equally interesting is the use of English words as titles. Like Goal, Cash, Speed, Race, Partner, Hey Baby, Marigold, Gandhi My Father, No Smoking, The Bong Connection, Kidnap, Victoria No 203, LoveStory 2050, Jimmy, Johnny Walker, Fear, Welcome, Woodstock Villa, Darling, Fashion , and Alibaug .
And if that's not all, there are also the days of the week, Wednesday and Sunday.

The only English word that has been over-used in Bollywood is love. But now with the lyrics also having a high content of English words, Hinglish is in, feel trade pundits.

Says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, "Post Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (HAHK) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) , there was a rush of these long titles and even if the name of the film was short, there was an added strap to support the title like Daag - The Fire . But most filmmakers have realised the futility of the length considering the title has never been the deciding factor at the box office. Also filmmakers are realising that with so many films and serials being churned out every day, the audience would prefer short names that are quick go recollect."

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta, who's always believed in keeping titles short (barring Shootout At Lokhandwala ) - right from Aatish to Zinda to Alibaug - says, "I believe that the name of the film should be straightforward and be able to reflect the nature of the film."

Filmmaker Vivek Agnighotri who's film Goal is creating a buzz already, agrees and says, "The purpose of the name should be to attract the audience and at the same time let them know what to expect. It should not be used to show your poetic skills. A title should remain a title and not sound like poetry or a statement!"

And the filmmakers seem to have finally realised this as well. Well, with names becoming short and crisp, cine-goers are certainly not complaining! After all, what can work better than a kiss?