The IFTPC (Indian Film & Television Producers' Council) has released the latest list of title requests made by Hindi film producers. In keeping with Bollywood's ongoing fascination for all things angrezi, the trend of English titles continues. While next year's line-up sees use of English titles in thought-provoking cinema like Neeraj Pandey's Baby and Kabir Khan's Phantom, there are other titles that truly tickle your funny bone.

Sample this: Ram Gopal Varma has registered titles like 'ATM = Any Time Money' and 'Visa Passport' - surely a far cry from his to-the-point titles like 'Company' and 'D'. In the list are other absurd names like 'Wedding No Kidding', 'Hot Dog' and 'Trust Always Broken' that leave you amused. Thinking filmmakers like Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar have sought names like 'Bangistan' and 'Business'. While names like 'Bangistan' and 'ATM=Any Time Money' may be chosen for their ability to elicit an instant reaction (positive or negative, that's up to you), other ordinary English titles are chosen purely from the story's viewpoint.

One of the first releases of 2015 is Kumar Mangat's 'Alone'. Mangat, who has registered the title for his horror film that features Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover, says, "The title is apt for my film. The only reason it is in English is because my director and I felt it was more in sync with the subject than a Hindi one would be."

However, for the team of the suspense thriller 'Baby', mum is the word. They cannot give away anything about the title at this juncture. A trade source says, "Why the film is called so cannot be revealed because it may mean giving away the mystery. The title plays a very strong role in the story and will unravel itself to the audience once they see the film."

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai thinks the use of English titles has a lot to do with the audience too. "Hinglish is the spoken language in metros. So the audience doesn't mind simple English titles like Kick," he says.

Firoz Nadiadwala's 'Welcome Back' is called what it is because it is the sequel of the successful film - 'Welcome'. If the sequel delivers, the chances of it becoming a franchise are strong. So you may actually have a 'Welcome Back Again!' Just like 'ABCD 2' (Any Body Can Dance), which is the part two of 'ABCD' that went on to become a money-spinner. Anushka Sharma's maiden production - NH 10 is set on 'National Highway 10'. Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Calendar Girls' are who they are and Nikhil Advani, who is making the Hero remake, would naturally choose Hero as his title.