# Manoj Bajpayee film retitled ‘Gajab Raat’ after caste row 2026-10-15T07:27:40+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Manoj Bajpayee’s cop drama originally titled ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’ has been renamed ‘Gajab Raat’ following a controversy over the title being called casteist. Netflix released the trailer on Thursday, 15 October. The film, directed by Ritesh Shah and produced by Neeraj Pandey, will stream on Netflix from 23 October. After the title sparked social media outrage, an FIR was registered in Uttar Pradesh and the National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The Supreme Court ordered a stay on the film and directed the makers to change the title. Producer Neeraj Pandey acknowledged the title had hurt some viewers, saying the term ‘Pandat’ was used only as a colloquial name for a fictional character, and Bajpayee said he respected the concerns raised. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both outlets report Manoj Bajpayee's film ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’ being retitled ‘Gajab Raat’ after controversy, but Indian Express provides a far more detailed account of the legal and political pushback, noting an FIR, an NHRC notice, condemnation by Mayawati and the Vishva Hindu Parishad, and a Supreme Court stay. Times Now omits these institutional actions, instead leading with the title rebrand and trailer release. Where Indian Express gives equal weight to producer Neeraj Pandey's statement and actor Manoj Bajpayee's apology, Times Now reports only the producer's remarks and frames the change as a voluntary move after a high court petition. The coverage split shows a trade title retitling vs. the complete chronology of official objections and court intervention, the fuller version of which appears only in Indian Express. The film is set for a 23 October Netflix release. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Leads with rebranding, omits FIR, NHRC, Supreme Court - indianexpress.com (neutral report) Detailed account of political, legal objections and court order This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Gajab Raat, Manoj Bajpayee, Neeraj Pandey, Netflix, NHRC, Supreme Court of India Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/manoj-bajpayee-film-retitled-gajab-raat-after-caste-row/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/manoj-bajpayee-film-retitled-gajab-raat-after-caste-row/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/