Imtiaz Ali today introduced the audiences to his upcoming film, Laila Majnu and as he is looking forward to the release of the trailer on Wednesday, Imtiaz shared that it wasn’t easy to get the title.

Imtiaz says, “I always knew that Laila Majnu is the only title that this film could go by. The star, the plot of the film is Laila Majnu. We have known the legendary lovers for years and years before any one of our names were known.” He admits that he almost had a breakdown as it seemed impossible for him to get the title until he found out that the title rights were with the owner of Tips, Ramesh Taurani.

“Ramesh ji knew the value of this title and I am sure did not find it very wise to give it away to anyone like that but he was very gracious to agree as a goodwill gesture without demanding anything in exchange. I am thankful enough to him for being so generous, without him we wouldn’t have been able to take this forward,” he adds.

“I never considered having a different title for Laila Majnu because the film is actually a very faithful rendition of the famous Laila Majnu just in the modern time and placed in Kashmir. The setting is so because Kashmir gives the exotic backdrop to the film. The actors playing Laila and Majnu in this film are new so it was more important for us to get the title so that those actors could also go by the name ‘Laila’ and ‘Majnu’ for a while before they get to be known as what their original names are,” states Imtiaz.

Directed by Imtiaz’s brother, Sajid Ali, the film is slated to release on August 24.