Shah Rukh Khan defends the title 'Jab Harry Met Sejal'

Ranbir Kapoor

Shah Rukh Khan

The new title of Imtiaz Ali's next has sent social media into a tizzy. Criticised for being a blatant reference to 1989 classic American rom-com 'When Harry Met Sally' to sounding too similar to Ali's 'Jab We Met' (2007), reactions to 'Jab Harry Met Sejal' have ranged from funny to infuriating. Lead actor Shah Rukh Khan, however, hopes the audience will eventually warm up to it.

"We are all too close to the film to be objective. I was reading an article where the writer has taken great pains to go into the depth of why the film's title is not good. People have to understand it's just the title, there's more to the film. There's got to be a strong enough reason why the film is called that," he reasons.

Ranbir Kapoor

Going over the various working titles that were circulated on social media, he says The Ring would have been boring. "Rehnuma was something we were considering, but it just didn't go with the story. This is an upbeat film about Sejal Parikh (Anushka Sharma) and Harinder Mehra (his character). It's not like I am not happy with the title. I am happy, but eventually it's the director and the writer, who are most attached to the name. I am reluctant to say that Ranbir Kapoor gave it."

Ranbir had eralier told mid-day when he suggested the film's name, many scoffed at it, saying, Kya bakwaas title hai. "When the poster released with my suggested title, I felt happy," Ranbir said during a media interaction yesterday.