2017: Baahubali 2 the saving grace in one of the worst years for Bollywood films

We are eight months into 2017, and yet no Bollywood film has managed to touch the figure of Rs 150 crore. In the last two years, superstar-driven Bollywood films touched Rs 200 crore rather easily.

Salman Khan’s Tubelight, Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees, Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil and Varun Dhawan’s Badrinath Ki Dulhania have managed to touch Rs 125 crore, but none of these films — barring Badrinath Ki Dulhania — can be called as a hit film. Akshay Kumar’s Toilet: Ek Prem Katha has been successful, while Hindi Medium, with a collection close to Rs 75 crore, is the biggest superhit in terms of investment and recoveries. Half Girlfriend did well, but was below par in terms of 
expectations.

Salman, Shah Rukh, Ranbir Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput and even Kangana Ranaut have delivered duds this year. In fact, the industry is now looking at 2017 as the worst year in recent times. 

Baahubali 2, which is a Hindi film dubbed from Telugu, has done well, and hence cannot qualify as an ingenious Bollywood product, though the film has touched Rs 511 crore. Baahubali’s collection is more than Salman’s Tubelight, Shah Rukh’s Raees and Jab Harry Met Sejal, Akshay’s Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Ranbir’s Jagga Jasoos, Sushant’s Raabta; and Kangana and Saif Ali Khan’s Rangoon put together. “It seems to be a very bad year for Bollywood. So many films have never flopped,” observes trade analyst Atul Mohan. 

But the reason for these films flopping is manifold. “One reason is that the word of mouth is destroying films. If a film is bad, negativity is spreading very fast. News that the film is bad quickly passes through WhatsApp messages, or through Facebook and Twitter. But even if a film is very good, it takes time for the film to grow. It takes four to five days for people to realise that they have to go and watch the film because they want endorsements from a lot more friends that the film is good enough for them to spend their money,” adds Mohan.

Two decades ago, Bollywood filmmakers through their association Indian Motion Picture Producers Association, had met entertainment heads of news channels and newspapers asking them to refrain carrying movie reviews on Friday and Saturday because bad reviews were destroying their films. But none of them at that time would have comprehended how social media has been able to prevent audiences from reaching theatres.

“Unfortunately, there are very bad films that have come out this year. So, what is wrong is people spread the word that a film is bad? They are only doing it in the interests of the others,” says another trade pundit.