Keeping the tradition alive!

So, I am sure that the Aamir or Amitabh fan in you might have come out of the shock of the fact that ‘Thugs of Hindostan, the most anticipated movie of the year has turned out to be a dud. The fact of the matter remains that delivering flops after a huge hype is a long-maintained tradition in Bollywood, you might remember some, and forget some. However, here are some of those movies, which had a lot riding on them and they came a cropper on the box office. No, they were not ahead of their time films, which later grew to become cult. They were and are plain pure duds. Here are some of those moments of Bollywood history when all had seemed lost for those involved.

Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja: This one was forever in the making. Announced right after the super hit ‘Mr. India’ in 1987, ‘Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja’ was released after one hyped up the story in the media after the other. In fact, to use a famous line of today the nation wanted to see the movie as soon as yesterday. There were signs that not all was well Shekhar Kapoor, the original director left midway leaving it in the hands of his assistant Satish Kaushik. There was a mad amount spent on great sets, costumes and cinematography. The music was the first signal, the songs when released did not create any fire. The movie was extremely crucial for Sridevi, whose crown was almost lost to Madhuri the new challenger on the block. This movie was a headache-inducer with even Anupam Kher, the villain hamming away to glory. Jackie Shroff was the only dignified thing in this one. Made at the then King’s treasure budget of Rs 10 crore this one left many crying. As a college friend popularly branded it for me this one was – “Rupaye Ki Rani Chaarane Ka Raja!”

Trimurti: This one had created a huge controversy. Sanjay Dutt’s connection with the terror world forced the then ‘numero uno’ filmmaker Subhash Ghai to replace Dutt with Anil Kapoor, an error for which Dutt never forgave Ghai till he worked in ‘Ek Aur Ek Gyarah’. ‘Trimurti’ had probably the biggest frenzy for it. The film was the coming together of Subhash Ghai with Mukul S Anand the tech whiz kid of 1990s, the man who brought the Hollywood feel to Indian Cinema. This movie was also coming together of SRK the then-challenger to the established Kings of Bollywood. ‘Trimurti’ turned out to be a jigsaw of well-shot scenes and Anil Kapoor’s Sikander was the only good thing about it. The movie is also remembered for reducing the theatre icon Mohan Agashe to a peacock meets and an orangutan called Kooka.

Mela: The only good thing this one did is that Akshay Kumar got a wife for himself. As any trivia hungry Bollywood buff would know is that Twinkle Khanna had told a pursuing Akshay that if ‘Mela’ does not work she will marry him. It bombed and how. This one was a remake of ‘Karwan’ with shades of ‘Sholay’ in it. Twinkle Khanna was the principle character in this one and her Roopa remains the benchmark of loud overacting for a female star in Bollywood till date. Even Rakhi’s “Mere Karan Arjun aayenge” appears as a dignified Bachchan compared to this one. Add an action choreographer called Mahender Verma as the principle villain and Aamir Khan in his most hyper “avatar” ever. This one was a festival of overacting.

Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon: This one was the fourth attempt of Sooraj Barjatya. He was the man, who could do nothing wrong, someone who had redefined a genre in Bollywood. Someone who brought families back to theatres. This one was his collaboration with Hrithik Roshan the new crush of every Bollywood watching girl, a newcomer who was then hailed as the first legit threat to SRK. The movie had an animated parrot, a high BP suffering heroine in Kareena and Hrithik’s first and only overacting role till date. This competition of hyperactivity crashed and probably caused such a dent in Barjatya’s reputation that it took him a good three years to recover till another marriage video called ‘Vivah’ saved him.

- cinemawaalebaba.blogspot.com.