Despite Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Yodha flopping, Bollywood’s affair with action films is far from over

Despite Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Yodha flopping, Bollywood’s affair with action films is far from over.

Action films are not favored by the audience to give thumbs up to big screen spectacles like Big Miyan Chhote Miyan and Yudha. However, the industry has high hopes for upcoming actors Kill, Singham Again, Kalki 2898 AD, and Baby Jaan this year.

At least for the moment, action films seem to be out of favor with audiences giving the thumbs-up to big-screen spectacles like Big Miyan, Little Miyan and Yudha, while intimate comedies and romances are hailed as hits. Is. Madgaon Express, Crew and Do and Do Pyaar are the surprise hits of 2024, beating high-octane stunt films from the likes of Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff and Sidharth Malhotra.

It’s a far cry from 2023 when action films drove huge crowds, with Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathan and Jawan becoming blockbusters and earning Rs 1,000 crore each. Apart from this, Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal performed decently with Rs 900 crore and Salman Khan’s Tiger 3 earning over Rs 450 crore. And for a while it appeared that moviegoers wanted the 3S — stunts, stars and spectacle — on the big screen. But audiences can be notoriously restless as filmmakers and production houses soon found out.

Siddharth Anand’s Pathan released on 25 January 2023. Exactly a year later, he released Fighter, starring Hrithik Roshan alongside Pathan actor Deepika Padukone. However, the film couldn’t recreate the Rs 1,000 crore magic and grossed only Rs 350 crore worldwide, perhaps a conventional hit but nowhere near what was expected.

According to reports, Bade Mian Chhote Mian starring Akshay and Tiger had a budget of Rs 350 crore but managed to earn only Rs 70 crore at the ticket window. Similarly, Ajay Devgan starrer Maidan, the biopic of football coach SA Rahim, failed to pull crowds at the theatres. Made on a reported budget of Rs 250 crore, the film, released after several delays, grossed only Rs 50 crore at the box office. Action thriller Yudha with Siddharth managed to earn only Rs 53 crore, which is way below its budget of Rs 55 crore.

Action has been the reigning genre, but is there a degree of fatigue? Perhaps, said trade analyst Taran Adarsh. “You don’t like to eat biryani every day. Similarly, you need a change in genre, not just the actors. You can’t really bring the same things to the audience and expect them to like it. Will take it to the big time,” Adarsh ​​told PTI, calling the success of Madgaon Express a huge success. Madgaon Express, a travel comedy about three friends, has no A-list stars But it has done a business of around Rs 30 crore, which is much more than its budget.

In the 80s action also ruled and then in the 90s came Qayamat to Qayamat, then Mein Pyaar Kiya, followed by Deewana, and Dilwale Dulhaniya will take it and then Kuch Kuch happens. The romantic genre, which was killed off by masala entertainment, is back,” Adarsh ​​told PTI.

You can’t write a certain genre with a flop. Today, if an action film doesn’t work, we can’t write it. If a biopic like Maidan doesn’t work, we can’t write it. Romcoms will never go out of fashion. A Hindi film is incomplete without romance and emotion. It would still work if there was no action.” Film critic Sybil Chatterjee added that comedy is back, but will never be as big as action films like KGF, RRR or even Fighter.
“We live in a time when there’s a lot of depressing stuff going on. So when you see a comedy that’s bright enough and has some class, people are willing to go out and see it. Madgaon Express is a small film in terms of who the actors are, no big stars and it’s out of nowhere, at least Kareena and Tabu are a good one , has intelligent writing that is in the funny zone but done with a lot of rigour,” he said. Is.

According to Sameer Nair of Applause Entertainment, one of the producers of Two and Two Pyaar, “there is no fatigue for action or any other genre”. He said that audiences respond to good storytelling and good content will always bring audiences to theatres. Doo Aur Do Pyaar, an urban relationship drama starring Prateek Gandhi and Vidya Balan, is not a box office hit, but the film was well received and people thronged theaters to watch it. .

Audiences don’t come for genre, they come for story, characters and relationship drama. In the case of ‘Do Aur Do Pyaar’, you may not have seen it just for the romcom genre. It should be a great story well told. Gender isn’t everything. The same goes for action. Every viewer who watches an action movie knows all the tricks: there will be helicopters, big bazookas, etc.,” said Nair.

The story, the setting and the question ‘Why should I care about these people on screen?’ is the key. If the audience cares about your characters, you will be successful. The same applies to films like 12th Fail (2023), Do Aur Do Pyaar, Madgaon Express, and Crew,” said Nair. Vishik Chauhan, a Bihar-based exhibitor, said the situation is dire. “Bollywood producers are scared of the box office. The situation is alarming due to the poor performance of films this year, including two disastrous Eid releases (Bade Mian Chhote Mian, Maidan)… Despite the stars, budget, festival dates, Movies are less.
Moving forward, the industry has upcoming comedies Kill, Singham Again, Kalki 2898 AD, and Baby Jaan along with biopics Srikanth and Chandu Champion along with comedies Bad News, Stree 2, Bhol Bholia 3, and Welcome. There are high hopes for To Thee. the forest.