When Mona became the darling & (DK) Bose meant more than speakers!

Jun 24, 2011 | Sandhya Srinivasan | Culture Codes

It surely has been a sore point or a happy one as the case may be, for many who woke up one morning and heard their name on many others lips. No, it wasn’t as if they were the new Cleopatra or Adonis of the modern world. It was just that some advertiser or scriptwriter took fancy to celebrating or ripping a name apart. Of course we laughed at some. At some others, we just smiled and looked for connections. JLT. I for one have two dear friends with names Chandni & Sheela, and I haven’t stopped ribbing them ever since.

The ones who got their bristles up were always those, whose names were treated contemptuously. I too sometimes dread it when a namesake pops up somewhere with dubious credentials. So I fully understand the cringing that happens when people see their beautiful names with even more profound meanings (our love for selecting baby names which have a story), suddenly treated with disdain. But sometimes there is a power that comes with this celebration, that gives one quite a high. VIJAY DINANATH CHAUHAN….wherever he is, would agree with that alright.

Not hard to understand why! Today a name assumes many textures. Anand is Andy. Very cool. Tejinder is TJ. Even cooler. Brand names are carefully crafted with the promise woven in. They have meanings too. They add a bit of French, Japanese and other languages that make them exotic. A 16-yr old who’d dropped by at our office a few weeks back, told me that uber cool teens of his age check the ‘looks good on me’ factor of the brand name before they buy the brand. So WHAT’S IN A NAME? Everything.

Here is a mix of celebrated names & some ripped apart ones, that caught my attention. Have a hearty laugh. Smile. Enjoy.

Nikita I need you so

Bhaag DK Bose

Living next door to Alice (Well that got distorted alright for all who remember)

Pappu Paas ho gaya (Cadbury)

Aicha (Ayesha)

Hari Sadu (naukri.com)

Sheila ki Jawaani

Susanna I love you

If you think that was it, there is Munni who got badnaam (Film: Dabaang), Delilah who kept pushing it (Cranberries), someone who’s name is Lakhan (Film: Ram Lakhan)….it goes on. So watch out, you could wake up tomorrow with your name on some rocking album or film or ad. Just pray that it sounds real good.