Mumbai, a word drawn from the Marathi language, has been the official legal name of Mr. Joshi's home city since 1995, when the nativist political party in power chose it to replace the Anglicized name Bombay, used since colonial times.  Not everyone adopted the new name, though. Some kept using Bombay out of long habit or institutional inertia — the city's stock exchange and its high court still bear the name, for example. Others stuck with Bombay as a political statement, rejecting what they considered xenophobic politics behind the change.  Read MoreBig change in India on its way: Finance Minister  Though this divide leads to regular dust-ups on televised talk shows, Mr. Joshi's case was the first in recent memory in which an artist has been called out for using Bombay.  "If the name of this city has been changed, it's only fair that we adhere to the new name," said Meenal Baghel, editor of The Mumbai Mirror, a daily newspaper. "But should it have been bleeped as if it is a four-letter word? I think that's ridiculous."  The film censor's decision drew considerable criticism and mockery on Monday, but the board's top official, Pahlaj Nihalani, said he stood by the decision, which was made by his predecessor. (Mr. Nihalani became the board's chairman in January.)  "Given the past controversy over the use of Bombay in films, this was avoidable," Mr. Nihalani told The Hindu, a daily newspaper. "There are some elements who make deliberate attempts to create controversy by using Bombay, keeping in mind future prospects."  More from the New York Times  Taking Note: Meet the Flawed Politician Who Might Lead the N.Y. AssemblyEditorial: Mr. Putin Resumes His War in UkraineKrugman: Long-Run Cop-Out  Mr. Joshi, for his part, was adjusting to his new status as a test case. He uses both names interchangeably — his album is called "Mumbai Blues" — and describes himself as so apolitical that he reads only the sports and entertainment sections of the newspaper. The song in question, "Sorry," was written as an imagined lament of a father to his daughter, written on the anniversary of a brutal gang rape in New Delhi.  Mr. Joshi wondered about the censorship board's priorities. Noting that he does not drink or smoke and rarely uses profanity, he said: "Look at the songs that are coming out in Bollywood, one song that says 'I am an alcoholic,' and another that says 'weed from this place is the best weed to have.' If all of that is acceptable, and it can come out, and people are dancing to it, how can it be a problem that I have used the word 'Bombay?' "
Mumbai-based musician Mihir Joshi hits the censors when he uses the word "Bombay" in his song - a sore point in India's war over history and identity.