Disaster Trek: Biggest flops of the superstars

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Superstars are not infallible. Time and again down the decades we have seen films that proved that a superstar, in the final analysis, cannot make all films of his run merly by his presence. There are stars who go through a prolonged lean phase, only to bounce back. When the superstar is big, and the scale, budget and price of a film escalate, so does the level of failure. And then there are those who have mega-disasters after giving mega-hits.

Salman Khan

Salman Khan’s Sikandar is the latest example. Making his 2024 debacle, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan look almost like a winner in comparison, this film has slid down in an incredibly short five days from a daily collection of Rs. 30 crore to Rs. 3 crore, something unprecedented for a film of his! Barring Tiger 3, Salman has delivered back-to-back flops since 2017, reports bollywoodhungama.com, and Sajid Nadiadwala, co-producer along with Salman, “would be hoping for Salman Khan to refund the huge pay cheque taken to set off the losses.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Tubelight and Antim—The Final Truth others have been major turnips from the actor since he became the new King Midas after Wanted and Dabangg way back in 2009-2010.

Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan, too, is no newcomer to flops. The open secret is that Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai, considered his milestone and turnaround films as actor, were flops outside Mumbai. His Thugs of Hindostan (2018) saw Yash Raj Films having to compensate distributors for the losses, despite a then-unprecedented opening (during Diwali) of over Rs 50 crore in India alone. But the real calamity was his own production, Laal Singh Chaddha, in 2022. That film has made Aamir so insecure that he is now acting in and making the low-key Sitaren Zameen Par and producing a film that brings back the Sunny Deol-Rajkumar Santoshi combo of Ghayal, Damini and Ghatak!

Shah Rukh Khan

Had Pathaan and Jawan not happened back-to-back, Shah Rukh Khan would have bene in mega-trouble! His bad phase lasted for a long, long while since Happy New Year’s average performance. Home productions Dilwale and Raaes could not recover investment, and Fan and co-productions Zero and Jab Harry Met Sejal were calamities. But the ever-resourceful Shah Rukh, helped by the mighty force of a strongly loyal NRI fan base, continued to remain in the news as producer, some of which, like the film Badla and the web series, The Forgotten Army—Azaadi Ke Liye were appreciated and successful.

Akshay Kumar

This three-to-four-films-a-year star has been having extraordinary bad luck since a long while now. Sooryavanshi (2021), OMG 2 (2023) and Sky Force (2025) have been his saving graces amidst a deluge of non-performers, including OTT releases during the pandemic. The difference here is that even his good films have failed to win audience endorsement, like Bellbottom, Mission Raniganj, Sarfira and Khel Khel Mein. On the other hand, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Selfiee,Bachchhan Paandey and Samrat Prithviraj have been catastrophes of epic proportions.

Ajay Devgn

Ajay Devgn is probably the classic case of a superstar who proves that good films will run and bad films will not, with exceptions proving the rule both ways. The brilliant Runway 34 and Maidaan failed, as did the above-average Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha (which was a true-blue disaster in terms of collections), but the average Shaitaan did well. On the other hand, the impressive Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior and Drishyam 2 were super-hits, and the disappointing Azaad and Bholaa turned turtle.

Hrithik Roshan

Hrithik Roshan saw a surprise downer in Vikram Vedha, in which his performance too was extraordinary, and it is said that Fighter too did not recover its cost. But his box-office balance sheet is happily on the plus side, as Hrithik has always been ultra-choosy.

Ranbir Kapoor

Happily, Ranbir Kapoor is in a good space now, with back-to-back hits Brahmastra, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar and Animal. But let is not forget that he has given us three of the most monumental flops in recent history, one very much undeserved—that was his ahead-of-its-times exciting co-production Jagga Jasoos. The other flops—Shamshera and Bombay Velvet—got what was coming to them.

The older calamities

No era has been devoid of major mishaps, reversals and setbacks. And no star has escaped. Amitabh Bachchan had Lal Baadshah (the word “Lal”/ “Laal” truly spells danger!). Manoj Kumar had Clerk and Dharmendra had his Razia Sultan, and Rajesh Khanna and Dilip Kumar had a spate of flops before reviving their careers—by an amazing coincidence!—with different films named Daag! Raj Kapoor had Mera Naam Joker, which achieved cult status later. Flops achieving cult status? Yes!

But that’s another story!

Related posts:

‘Gump’tion and more: Laal Singh Chaddha to hit screens amidst boycott calls Salman Khan’s damage-control exercise begins The Diwali Scoreboard of the Superstars