Maverick filmmakers, superstars, and big budgets can’t always save a film from flopping, even with great content. Despite trailers garnering immense publicity and hype signifying good buzz for the film, its eventual fate at the box office shows how marketing isn’t an assurance. Fridays decide a film’s fate, no matter the budget, stars, music, or content.
Here’s a brief review of the films, advertised as some of the costliest, turned out to be damp squids:
Biggest Flops film in Bollywood History
Shaandaar had a massive budget of Rs 75 crores and was highly anticipated in 2015. However, the Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer flopped in just one day, despite its fresh pairing, catchy songs, and lavish production. What the film didn’t have was a script!
Yet another disaster of 2015, Bombay Velvet has become a blemish in the career of director Anurag Kashyap. Bombay Velvet tanked at the box office, earning just Rs 30 crore despite a Rs 125 crore budget. It’s now acquired a cult status.
Hrithik Roshan’s dream project flopped due to a weak script, despite a talented team and promising cast. Father Rakesh Roshan even managed a Brett Ratner cut of the film for American spectators. 150 crores down the drain!
Costly Failures: When Blockbusters Bombed
Producer Boney Kapoor poured all his money into financing this extremely ambitious project. The film had a massive budget of Rs. 9 crores, a fortune back when Rs. 1 crore was considered huge. Shekhar Kapur, the original director, wisely exited the project, given its eventual poor quality. Critics panned the film for its poor dialogues, weak screenplay and an extremely daff story-line. Megastars like Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor and Sridevi were wasted.
Shah Rukh Khan’s dream venture falter and faltered badly. The film had a budget of Rs 13 crores and ran for 3 hours, but critics and audiences didn’t respond well to it.
The Most Expensive Disasters in Bollywood
Harry Baweja invested in VFX teams from Australia and New Zealand to launch his son Harman in a big-budget film. However, the film flopped, and Harman’s career suffered. His relationship with Priyanka Chopra also ended. Harman was left known only as a Hrithik lookalike.
It’s a well-known fact that perfectionist Aamir Khan spends a lot of time preparing for his roles. To look at completely his part, the star grew long hair and mustache portraying the role of India’s freedom fighter, Mangal Pandey. But the 35 crore film directed by Ketan Mehta failed to receive appreciation for its brittle script and treatment.
Touted as the perfect launch pad for star son and daughter, Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, Saawariya was not well received in the domestic market. Made at a huge budget of Rs. 40 crore and shot on ‘blue-coloured’ sets, this Sanjay Leela Bhansali film lost the completion with Shah Rukh Khan’s film Om Shanti Om.
Making a comeback with this mega project starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and a guest appearance by Govinda, Mani Ratnam’s Raavan had its fate sealed miserably at the box office. The 100 crore film could make only 50% of its business.
Ajay Devgn’s home production was made at a budget of Rs. 30 crores, a huge sum at a time when going beyond Rs. 15 crore was considered risky. Neither its Christmas release nor its unlucky similitude with 1965 classic The Sound Of Music, could salvage the film’s business as it crashed leaving producer-actor Ajay Devgn much loss. An elongated screenplay, lukewarm performances by the lead stars and an insipid execution let the film sink without much effort.
Blue
Released in 2009, Blue was considered to be the most expensive film of that year made at 129 crores. The film had garnered attention for its international treatment, expensive action and choreography, big stars like Akshay Kumar and Sanjay Dutt, and a long schedule in the Bahamas. But the feeble content about an under-sea bounty left many audiences disappointed. Special appearance song by Kylie Minogue did no service to the producers’ loss.
The film shut down Shashi Kapoor’s production company. The film was made at a budget of Rs. 9 crores, a huge figure in 1991. This superhero film starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor bombed so badly that it also had a detrimental impact on Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor relations.
RGV Ki Aag
Undoubtedly the biggest disaster to have gown down in the history of Bollywood, RGV Ki Aag was not only a failure at the business but also a depressing subject. The film had already grabbed eyeballs for being a remake of Sholay but after much criticism from all corners, Ram Gopal Verma decided to go forward with his own version avoiding any semblance with the original film. Horrendous casting, bad storytelling and an even traumatic execution, the film deserved to be a catastrophe and a lesson in arrogance for the maker. Amitabh Bachchan played the role of Babban – a remixed version of Sholay’s, Gabbar.
Drona
Investing Rs 87 crore on Abhishek Bachchan was always going to be a gamble, but one had to bet on close friend Goldie Behl to take a chance with Drona. Fortunately, Goldie Behl never again made a film.
Besharam
Ranbir Kapoor’s career has always been about highs and lows but the unimaginable extremes his films touch is a case study. On one end he delivers path-breaking films like Barfi, on the other hand, there are the likes of Besharam, where one wonders what goes behind the thought process of such a promising star to choose such scripts. The 85 crore film could only yield a meager 35 crore.
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