Barring wrestling dramas 'Sultan' and 'Dangal', Bollywood struggled to get its act right in 2016 as big budget movies "Mohenjo Daro", "Fitoor" and "Fan" failed at the ticket window despite the star presence.
via GIPHY
Bad Year For SRK?
'Fan' did not get the required box office numbers despite the critical acclaim coming his way for the dual role of an obsessed fan and a superstar. "Dilwale", which released at the fag end of 2015, was a debacle for the actor who now seems to be moving away from conventional romantic hero roles to characters-driven stories, be it his latest release "Dear Zindagi" or his upcoming drama "Raees" that will see him returning to action after a long time.
ADHM And Shivaay didn't win either
"Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" faced trouble for Pakistani actor Fawad Khan's cameo as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena threatened to stall its release to capitalise on anti-Pakistan sentiments. Johar released a video, promising he will not cast any Pakistani actors in future. A controversial negotiation was brokered between the producers and Raj Thackeray by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to allow the film to release.
Ajay Devgn's "Shivaay", which clashed with "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", was a disappointment, largely due to its huge budget.
Hrithik Roshan's bad run
It was a bad year for Hrithik Roshan both on personal as well as professional front. The actor's image took a major hit due to the ugly public fight between him and his "Kites" co-star Kangana Ranaut. Hrithik's ambitious big screen outing "Mohenjo Daro" despite its huge budget and a director like Ashutosh Gowarikar, sank without a trace at the ticket window. The movie was panned by critics as well for getting its facts wrong and Hrithik's tanned look.
The film also had to compete with Akshay Kumar's "Rustom", which made its run at the box office even more difficult.
Mohenjo Daro's fate seemed sealed when its trailer was trolled online whereas Akshay managed to rope in major celebrity endorsements for his movie, inspired by the Nanavati murder case.
Akshay had a marked growth as a bankable star in Bollywood by collaborating on projects that had the right mix of commerce and content with a dash of nationalism. Both "Airlift" and "Rustom" did well at the box office while his third release "Housefull 3" turned out to be an average.
Dangal, Sultan, MS Dhoni — the saving graces
Salman once again lived up to his 'fail-proof' tag with "Sultan". The film, which saw him as a wrestler who rises from despair to emerge victorious, was the biggest blockbuster this year and had a record opening figure at Rs 36.54 crore. Aamir's film "Dangal", a true-life inspired story of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, earned the second-highest opening at the box office by making Rs 29.78 crore last Friday. The Nitesh Tiwari-directed film has already entered the Rs 100 crore club by earning Rs 106.95 crore in three days. It is set to end the year on a good note for Bollywood.
Sushant Singh Rajput's impressive performance as Indian skipper M S Dhoni in the Neeraj Pandey-directed biopic, Karan Johar's controversy-ridden "Ae Dil Ha Mushkil", starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai, "Rustom" and "Airlift" were among the handful hit movies in the year full of disappointments.