From the Khans to the Kapoors, the Devgans and the Kumars and the Bachchans to the Roshanss, Bollywood has been a testament to some superbly talented and euphoric Superstars who have gifted the industry with some spectacular super hits. While Salman Khan ranks top notch when it comes to Box office earnings today, others too follow suit, courtesy the immense hype that a big budgeted film with a heavyweight surname tags along!
But sometimes, unfortunately even a big budgeted superstar starer goes haywire, much due to lack of an audience appeal, some gibberish plot lines and some not so lovable chemistry among its lead pairs. Nevertheless, when we all are going gaga with the recent smashing box office records created and broken each day, here are some films who, in spite of being backed by a famous legion, failed to match up to its expectations.
Himmatwala :
Ajay Devgn-Sajid Khan’s massy entertainer turned out to be the biggest dud of this season, considering the immense buzz generated around this flick. Nonsense of a storyline with some ridiculously funny and immature performances, Sajid’s bon voyage to the 1980s was one that failed to entertain, instead causing terrible headaches, with dosages of Aspirins prescribed in.
Agent Vinod :
When Bollywood turned the Bond and the Bourne route with this spy agent thriller, one expected a Bollwoodised version of the Bond series to play a pivotal role. But Saif’s paunch could not quite pack in the right punch as the film made its way to the dump, oh-so-convincingly. A failing script, critical pan and a story that ended up as a world tour more than mystery espionage, Agent Vinod fell desperately short of the success, by miles!
Joker :
Lol. Lol-er. Lol-est! That is what defines this film, err sorry the comic caper. Oh sorry! The sci fi flick. Oh! We guess Shirish’s Joker was in a genre of its own while being made and ended up in a no man’s land prior to its release. A tedious drama spanning two hours, thic costed more than the slap that he suffered at the hands of King Khan. While the slap made him famous (for a day, silly) Joker made a paploo out of this overtly boastful and bragging film maker! Even Akshay Kumar left promotions of the film mid way after having some rumoured tiff with the man who was earlier famous as Farah Khan’s husband! And you know what to remember him by, now!
Tees Maar Khan :
When the Mr is walking away with the cake, how can the Mrs be far behind? Sans the spicy and deliciously oomphy belly dancing act in Sheila ki Jawaani, Sheila Ki Jawaani was a mad roller coaster ride that lacked every thing. From a stellar performance to effortless direction and a gripping plotline, the film was a minus in all the departments, thereby resulting in a disastrous performance! Farah’s winning streak was halted and Tees Maar Khan became the new benchmark for other mindless flicks too!
Khele Hum Jee Jaan Se :
Portraying a glimpse of some forgotten history pages, Abhishek-Ashu’s coalition was a stereotypical dud, thanks to lack of some riveting performances and noise about the film. While Abhishek is miles away from being a superstar (actor, we meant!), Ashutosh’s depiction feel flat on the face. Even ssome earnest performances by other lesser known supporting stars could not quite save the film from sinking!
Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji :
If Ashu went blank, Madhur went point blank when he plunged to make a mushy rom com and failed with aplomb! Though some performances were heartfelt, the film lacked an audience connect, suffering the jolts too damn badly! Even Ajay’s presence went unnoticed!
Tezz :
Think of an ensemble cat-film going wrong and the one that strikes your mind straight would be this high octane action thriller which had an otherwise dismal fate although it boasted of Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut as major star attractions and Priyadarshan as a popular director. Lack luster performances and bad storyline killed it for the Tezz team! Money spinned anything but Tezz for them as well! Sigh!
Main Aur Mrs Khann :
Salman might be the Dabangg Robinhood Pandey of the Box Office today, but back then this Wanted star had quite a few major lows in his career as well. He himself declared his nephews ended up getting bored after this film,loosely based on relationships, hence accepting the ill fate it faced at the box office. So it was an obvious dud for the audience too. Check!
Yuvraaj :
Another Salman Starrer which caught dust, much due to content and charisma in its script, Yuvraaj failed to generate the success that the film was expected to. While Salman-Katrina’s chemistry was applauded, the film in totality was panned nationwide.
Aarakshan :
Based in the backdrop of a hugely hostile theme of seat reservation in India, Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan had the perfect blend from its desired performers but it failed to manage to raise upto the level, much due to the stretched and tedious film making and some shallow over ridden stereotyped images portrayed. The audience could do nothing but be bored in this over two-and-half-hours hour long yawnathon of sorts!
Magnum Opuses turning into disasters is common in Bollywood. Bitter thrashing and shimmer-less reception has happened before and continues to happen now! Though cinematic junk is the staple order sometimes, bad content and terrible execution can still doom.