The year 2023 was a blockbuster-studded success story for the Hindi film industry. Big-budget action dramas such as Jawan, Pathaan and Animal did fantastic business, resulting in the much-needed revival of hope. Apart from these three films, two more big hits also contributed to the process of recovery after a lull in 2022: the mid-size period drama Gadar 2 and the polarizing small-budget political drama The Kerala Story.
The present year, however, has reissued a reminder the industry will not ignore. The failure of a big-budget film can result in huge losses, as seen in the case of the sci-fi action film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan which pleased few and ultimately grossed less than one-third of its estimated budget of Rs 350 crore. In hindsight, the disaster was inevitable. The two-hero film’s leading men (Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff) had not experienced success for a while, and, far more importantly, it was severely handicapped by a half-baked screenplay. The aerial action drama Fighter underperformed, too, giving what was the first disappointing news of the year.
Several smaller films, on the other hand, have done good business in the last few months. The horror comedy Stree: Sarkate Ka Aatank enticed fans of Stree, its prequel, and countless others. Reportedly filmed on a budget of Rs 50-60 crore, the ideal budget for a mid-size film, it has already grossed an estimated Rs 777 crore at the global box office. Those extraordinary numbers make it the biggest Bollywood hit of the year – by a long distance.
Headlined by Ajay Devgn and filmed on a reported budget of Rs 60 crore, the supernatural horror film Shaitaan grossed an estimated Rs 210 crore. Small-budget films that did not promise much before their release became sleeper hits, the horror comedy Munjya and the political thriller Article 370 surpassing industry expectations with their performance. Featuring non-stars Sharvari and Abhay Verma, Munjya produced on a reported budget of Rs 30 crore managed to earn an estimated Rs 132 crore. Article 370 featuring Yami Gautam and Priyamani, which had a budget of Rs 20 crore, reportedly grossed Rs 110 crore.
Another film with an all-women leading cast of Tabu, Kareena Kapoor-Khan and Kriti Sanon, the heist comedy Crew grossed more than twice its reported budget of Rs 75 crore. The comedy Bad Newz starring Vicky Kaushal, Triptii Dimri and Ammy Virk and produced on an estimated budget of Rs 80 crore grossed more than Rs 112 crore. A couple of films, the small-budget comedy-drama Laapataa Ladies and the modestly budgeted comedy Madgaon Express were average grossers. But, they earned the next best thing: critical acclaim, with Laapataa Ladies even more appreciated for being a gem of offbeat cinema.
Despite some signs of change, Hindi commercial cinema is dominated by the hero who commands the highest salary and gets the meatiest role. The Khans – Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir – have delivered numerous blockbusters in the last three decades. But, all of them are in their late 50s, which means they will not appear in central roles for long. Akshay Kumar hasn’t delivered a solo hero success for quite some time. In his mid-50s like Kumar, Devgn has been occasionally successful. But, he also featured in a dud like the sports biopic Maidaan produced at an estimated budget of Rs 100 crore that barely grossed Rs 68 crore. Hrithik Roshan, the youngest of the lot at 50, is a big star. As selective as Aamir, however, he has had his share of underperforming films recently.
Has the new generation of male heroes taken over from the seniors in terms of its ability to deliver big hits with reasonable consistency, especially when compared to any of the Khans during those phases when they have performed brilliantly? It has not, barring Ranbir Kapoor without a shade of doubt, who leads the pack of younger stars. For quite some time, Kapoor and Ranveer Singh were seen as contenders for the position of the biggest superstar of the new generation. Despite his flamboyance, the ticket to his off-screen popularity, Singh has fallen behind in the never-ending race.
The presence of others such as Vicky Kaushal, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao and Kartik Aaryan has ensured the availability of talent in the new generation. Their biggest grossers have performed brilliantly: the Kaushal-led war drama Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019), the crime drama Andhadhun (2018) with Khurrana in the central role, and the horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 starring Aaryan having earned much more than their budget. Moreover, the Rao-led Stree 2, the sequel to Stree presently in the cinemas, is an all-time blockbuster.
Tiger Shroff is pure star material. His two-hero action drama War (2019), in which he shared screen space with Roshan, was a blockbuster. However, each of these stars has been guilty of delivering box-office bombs, as best seen in the case of Shroff’s last three films: Heropanti 2 (2022), Ganapath: The Hero is Born (2023) and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan this year.
The big worry, in short, is that getting great box-office scores is becoming increasingly difficult. Kaushal, Rao (even after Stree 2) and Khurrana are seen as leading men in mid-size films anyway. The box-office performance of Aaryan’s films will be under scrutiny, his latest film, the biographical sports drama Chandu Champion made with a reported budget of around Rs 100 crore, having grossed an estimated Rs 88 crore. It is safer to make smaller films with Shroff – until he delivers a couple of hits with such films.
The number of Bollywood films with 100-crore-plus budgets is bound to decrease. That is understandable since no producer wants to invest in movies knowing he will lose money.
The writer, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature, cinema and pop culture. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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