Budget is one of the key elements in making or breaking a film. If the money is right, sky is your limit. You can indulge in all sorts of promotional tactics and go extravagant. But it doesn’t mean you will have a sureshot run at the box office. There are many such instances where big budget films turned into big budget flops with losses amounting to crores. Today, we take a look at such disappointments that burnt a hole in the producers’ pockets without any satisfactory outcome.
Veer
It was a Salman Khan extravaganza. Written and acted in by the actor himself, Veer was mounted on huge sets with a huge budget behind it which was close to Rs 460 million. Although it was long before Salman discovered his Midas touch, the film had deafening buzz around it. But all the film heard were grunts and dismissals. Nobody liked Salman or his story or his look for that matter. Apparently, the average gross for the film was only Rs. 21-22 lakh.
Kites
Everytime one watches Kites, there is just one question that perhaps floods their mind, “What on earth was Hrithik and his father Rakesh Roshan thinking?” The film was supposedly made to please Hrithik’s national as well as international fan base. But when it released after spending nearly Rs 60 crore, it touched no base. Both national and international fans rejected it outright. What it did accomplish was to trigger off speculations about a widening rift between Susanne and Hrithik which last year reached the crescendo.
Billu
Call him crazy or stupid, remaking a film which already signed Rajnikanth’s fingers has a disaster written all over it. Kuselan was supposed to be the inspiration behind Billu. Kuselan didn’t set the cash registers ringing and same was the case with Shah Rukh Khan starrer Billu which was also his production. Lots of item songs with every ‘friend’ of Shah Rukh were ingested into the narrative but it availed nothing. Approximately a Rs 50 crore film, Billu couldn’t bring even Shah Rukh’s fans to the theatre.
Mangal Pandey: The Rising
This came right after Lagaan which was lapped up by the audience. Perhaps Aamir Khan was under the impression that anything remotely heroic and patriotic will be loved by Indians. Unfortunately, not everything works the way you want and this Rs 360 million magnum opus drowned badly.
LOC: Kargil
This didn’t only have a magnanimous scale but also an elephantine cast. Every actor worth his salt was in the film and few long forgotten ones as well. J.P. Dutta was looking to recreate his Border magic with this film but it failed miserable. Made at an estimated budget of 40 crore, the film had the biggest names in it but it seems it was too crowded for the audience to like it.
