Amitabh Bachchan tweeted this last night – “T180 – FI : Film Industry, InFI : Indian Film Industry … a much recommended and apt name than the other plagiarized often used euphemism !”.

I respect Mr Bachchan and am struck by his deep love for Bollywood. This is not the first time he has stood up for Bollywood. He has been an outspoken defender of the “song and dance” routine in Indian movies. I agree with him. “Song and dance” is what sets Indian movies apart and there is no need to be apologetic about them. I would only submit that they be connected to the movie plot tastefully and seamlessly. He does not believe that the Oscars define the ultimate measure of success for Indian movies. True, but there is nothing wrong in the Indian movie industry aspiring to attract an international audience. Also, “don’t care for Oscars” should not be excuse for mediocrity.

Coming back to his recommendation – InFI sounds cool but there are a few reasons why it will not work:

a)     The *wood (Bollywood, et al) brand name is established. It will be very, very hard to displace it.

b)    India has a diverse and localized movie industry. Each region has its own, cool sounding “wood” (my favorite – Sandalwood for the Bangalore movie industry). InFI, itself isn’t bad but the regional equivalents sound downright goofy – MumFI, CheFI, HyFI (this wouldn’t be too bad), BaFI, KeFI….you get the drift.

c)     For the few million people who know Infosys as Infy, InFI would be chaotic. (Example – People on the street talk about InFI going through a bad patch and the Infy stock tanks.)

Mr Bachchan, sir – I love your work, but I’ll stick with Bollywood.