Salman Khan had the biggest hit, but a huge flop too.
By Dileep Thekkethil
The year has been successful for a few Bollywood movies like Bajrangi Bhaijaan, ABCD 2, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, but on the flip side, there were plenty of movies that made moviegoers yawn till the last minute.
Here are five of the biggest misses at the box office in 2015:
Shaandaar
Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer ‘Shaandaar’ is in the top of the list of Bollywood’s biggest flops for the year 2015. Directed by Vikas Bahl, the film failed to entice the audience despite having Bollywood’s biggest names – Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane as its producers. ‘Shaandaar’ was the first film that Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt paired as the romantic lead. It was also the first movie to have Shahid Kapoor and his father Pankaj Kapur together on screen. Nevertheless, the movie was a big disappointment and was criticized for its badly written script.
Bombay Velvet
Anurag Kashyap had a really bad year as his movie Bombay Velvet, which was hyped one of the most expensive movies made in Bollywood, ended in total disaster, for both the director and the audience. On the release day, moviegoers thronged into theaters to watch the magic unfold when Ranbir Kapoor paired up with Anushka Sharma but, unfortunately, they left the theatres with a heavy heart.
Even though the movie was a technically high-class product, the script failed to establish the characters of Ranbir Kapoor and Karan Johar, with the latter totally goofing up his antagonist role, and turning out to be a case of terrible casting. And for those who came to see Raveena Tandon, the actress showed up only for 30 seconds. The movie, set in the backdrop of 1960s Bombay, is a period crime drama based on the book of historian Gyan Prakash’s ‘Mumbai Fables.’
Singh is Bliing
‘Singh is Bliing’, the action comedy film directed by the dancer-turned-director Prabhu Deva, was one of the biggest misses in Bollywood for the year 2015. The movie which had Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson in the lead roles is one of the worst movies conceived by Prabhu Deva. The movie is stuffed with songs and the title action ‘comedy’ is just on paper. The movie had Kay Kay Menon as the anti-hero, but the talented actor had very little to do in the movie.
Phantom
Phantom, starring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif in leading roles, was directed by Kabir Khan, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Siddharth Roy Kapur. The movie, which is based on the book Mumbai Avengers which itself was based on the aftermath of 26/11 Mumbai attacks, was a watchable movie but its release clashed with Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which turned to be the biggest hit of 2015, thus pushing down the prospects of Phantom. The movie made on a budget of ₹50 crore (US$7.5 million) got a box office collection of just ₹63.24 crore (US$9.4 million).
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
Even though Salman Khan is credited with this year’s biggest blockbuster hit, the Bajangi Baijaan actor has also to his credit one of the worst-performing movies of the year, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo was Salman’s fourth movie with veteran director Sooraj Barjatya and the initial hype around the movie subsided after the bumper opening. The movie went on to get Rs. 200 crore at the box office but content-wise the movie was a big flop and it’s considered as the weakest of the Salman Khan-Sooraj Barjatya combo. The movie is based on a ’80s plot and made with the standards of ’90s production and released in ’2000s’!